thriller

Born that way? Belfry goes ‘Bad’

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By John Lyle Belden

For more than 70 years, “The Bad Seed” has been one of the most chilling dramas ever held on stage. The 1954 play by Maxwell Anderson, adapted from the novel by William March (prior to the 1956 film), tackles thorny issues of mental health, psychiatry, nature vs. nurture, juvenile development and psyche, trauma and responses to it, parenting, suicide, being blind to one’s assumptions, free will, and more.

All laid bare by a dispute over a school penmanship medal.

The Belfry Theatre production at The Cat in Carmel doesn’t shy away from any of this. Directed by Matt McKee, the story unfolds in a manner that even if you know everything that is going to happen, you can’t help but be drawn into the growing suspense.

Sixth-grader Olivia Cook plays central character Rhoda Penmark, the practically “perfect” daughter of Col. Kenneth and Cristine Penmark (Matt Spurlock and Lisa Anderson). If the name or her charming face in blonde braids look familiar, it may be that last year, she had the lead in “Ruthless,” the musical parody of “Bad Seed” (and “All About Eve”). This time, the singing and campy elements of the previous role cast aside, she proves to be as cold as a Terminator. Cook perfectly embodies the empathy deficit, narcissistic calm with moments of fury, imperfect attempts to be enough of a “nice” girl to get anything she wants, and unhindered calculations to remove obstacles.

Even now, in the era of True Crime programs and podcasts, it’s hard to see this in a cute tween girl; adults in the Eisenhower era didn’t stand a chance.

Lisa Anderson, as increasingly anxiety-ridden Christine, gives us a reminder that she is as capable of award-worthy performance as her husband Matt (who provides a radio voiceover). What starts with a constant vague sense of unease, accompanied by disturbing dreams, grows into ever darker suspicions as each dread becomes confirmed.

Daughter of criminologist turned radio star Richard Bravo (Jamie Kenjorski, who we’ll meet later), Christine takes advantage of her husband being away on assignment to The Pentagon to pick the brain of current criminologist and author Reginald Tasker (Nate Mecija). Joining them for lunch are her landlady and upstairs neighbor Monica (Desireè Black), accompanied by Emory (Thom Johnson), Monica’s brother.

Monica, whom Black plays with blythe confidence, has undergone Freudian therapy and feels herself an expert on the matter, swiftly diagnosing everyone. Tasker, ignoring her amateur prattle, relates advances in studying psychopaths, finding their conditions as much or more a product of birth than upbringing.

Meanwhile, at the school picnic, Claude Daigle – the boy who won the medal Rhoda not only covets but felt entitled to – mysteriously drowns. While others react as you’d expect, Rhoda comes home and calmly puts on her skates to enjoy her free afternoon. The only one to openly suspect her mood and motives is handyman Leroy (Aaron Beal), who has come to terms with his own neurodivergence and senses a fellow traveler in the girl. Though it is plain, even to a first-time viewer, that this apparently simple-minded man is not the principal villain, Beal’s edgy performance helps keep questions open to his motives.

The question of what really happened comes to consume Christine, especially after she is visited by Rhoda’s teacher Miss Fern (Samantha Kelly). We also meet Claude’s parents, Dwight (Tom Riddle) acting like a turtle wanting desperately to retreat into his shell, and Hortense (Becca Bartley), who has submerged her grief and need for answers in alcohol. The Daigles being working-class, feeling socially inferior, factors into the mother’s slurred rants – which Bartley delivers with perfect pathos – adding to the tragedy of their situation.

McKee’s daughters make big contributions to this production. Ava serves as assistant director, stage manager, and has a moment onstage as a Messenger. Her sister Kayla, who also works the light and sound boards at Center Stage in Lebanon, does so here with growing professionalism (light and sound designed by Bill Miller). Costumes, including some interesting mother/daughter combinations, are by Taylor Moss. Susanne Bush made the most of the Cat stage to design the roomy Penmark living room. Jennifer Poynter wrangled the props (where did she get the medal?). Makeup and hair by Victoria Garcia.

“The Bad Seed” takes root for one more weekend, Friday through Sunday, Sept. 11-13, at 254 Veterans Way in downtown Carmel. (Despite ongoing construction, accessing this street is fairly easy.) Get info and tickets at thebelfrytheatre.com or thecat.biz.

IndyFringe: A Distant Sound of Thunder

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This is part of the annual Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, a/k/a IndyFringe 2026, held Aug. 13-23 in venues around downtown Massachusetts Ave. Information at indyfringe.org.

By Wendy Carson

In August 2025, a record heat wave causes a huge blackout in New York City. In hopes of finding some sort of relief, the locals throw an ersatz block party. When past resident Hector (Ian Cruz) shows up asking a few too many questions, things really get heated.

While recent retiree Bill (Steve Kruse) is delighted to see his old neighbor and catch up on recent changes, Mary (Karin Stratton) doesn’t trust him at all. It seems that numerous people, all of foreign descent, have been mysteriously disappearing from the building, and throughout the city. Since Hector is giving varied stories as to how his arm was broken and is overly interested in their new Trans neighbor, Enchante (Lucy Fields), perhaps Mary may be right.

Producer and author Eric Bryant gives us a true potboiler full of deception, paranoia, intrigue and humanity. Under the direction of Carrie Ann Schlatter, the cast deftly presents these captivating characters leaving the audience to decide for themselves the truth of each person’s story.

Performances were held on The District Theatre mainstage.

Famously psychological thriller at Center Stage

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By John Lyle Belden

“Gaslight” (a/k/a “Angel Street”), the Victorian thriller from the 1930s by Patrick Hamilton, is a rather straightforward story of deception, abuse, and murder. However, with the help of its 1940s film adaptations, the title is now a frequently used verb. Center Stage Community Theatre in Lebanon now brings us the original story, both to entertain and to give the pop-psych expression its context.

Jack and Bella Manningham (Daniel Ott and Stephanie Levell) do not have a healthy relationship, even by 1880s London standards. He controls her like a pet on a leash, not physically but with a more devastating verbal barrage, undercutting her self-confidence at every turn, making her uncertain of everything around her. He berates her in front of the servants, Elizabeth (Sarah Kennedy) and Nancy (Lauren Lotzow), and remarks on the beauty of the latter, a young woman whom it turns out he is secretly seducing.

And if Bella expresses her reservations about all this, she is reminded that her mother had gone mad, dying in Bedlam. It’s only a matter of time, he hints and she believes in constant fear, before she goes that way as well.

One night, a strange man (Adrian Blackwell) with a friendly yet urgent demeanor and a Scottish accent arrives while Jack is out for the evening, calling himself Rough, a former Sergeant and current Detective with Scotland Yard. He tells her of mysterious circumstances regarding the home they had not long ago moved into, how it was the site of a murder, coinciding with the disappearance of some precious jewels. In turn, she tells him her suspicions – how she hears footsteps in a locked room, and how the gas lighting dims on its own at certain times.

Given the mental baggage we bring in with the play’s title, especially given our present cynical era, we have to wonder: Is Det. Rough a real person? Is he an actual police officer? Is this Bella’s hope of rescue – or just prelude to institutionalization? And to what degree are the maids, especially eager Nancy, part of the plot?

Considering that clues such as a chair moved out of place could tip off Jack, his poor wife could be doomed, regardless.

Directed by Lori Raffel, the performances maintain the suspense and unreal nature of what is happening, keeping us invested in the outcome. Ott is consistently horrid, played in a way that we can’t be certain of Jack’s exact motive of driving Bella insane – lust, riches, sadism, or some combination. Blackwell, for his part, feels unreliable but at the same time Bella’s only real hope. Levell delivers an achingly compelling presentation of someone so mentally beaten while still nursing a little spark of hope. Kennedy is stoic as a stereotypical British butler, making her feelings and motives inscrutable, while Lotzow is the opposite, enjoying this twisted game.

The titular lights are part of a nice stage design by Christy Summersett and David Wines.

In all, this is an excellent look at a classic thriller, right down to the appropriately disturbing final scene.

Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise; you would like to see “Gaslight.” It is in its second weekend as we post this, concluding Friday through Sunday, May 15-17, at 604 Powell St., Lebanon. Get info and tickets at centerstagecommunitytheatre.com.

Enter the haunted trap of ‘Veronica’s Room’

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By John Lyle Belden

Eclipse Productions* of Bloomington adds to the October chill with its production of “Veronica’s Room.”

The 1973 play is by Ira Levin, author of “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Stepford Wives,” which should alert you to the caliber of psychological thriller we are dealing with. To set that mood, the audience walks in through the stage area of the Rose Firebay Theater in the Waldron Arts Center and are seated in the titular room throughout the play. Try to ignore the phantoms.

Soon arriving are Susan (Mandy Scamacca) and Larry (Michael Allen), a young couple invited by John (Ronnie Johnstone) and Maureen (Becky Stapf), caretakers of this old house. The Girl is asked to help comfort the home’s aging resident by pretending to be her long-dead sister, Veronica. They note that Cissie, who is dying, has mentally slipped back to 1935 and needs reassurance that her sister has forgiven her for past events.

Reluctant at first, Susan agrees to take on the role, including changing into Veronica’s clothes. After The Woman briefs her on details including the younger brother Conrad and their physician, Dr. Simpson, she is left alone to prepare for the next scene.

She is not ready for what happens next.

I dare not spoil anything further, as the plot twists around shifting identities and altered reality – like a story by Phillip K. Dick in the style of Shirley Jackson. Director Kate Weber leans into this sense of fractured perspective with touches including the unspeaking hooded guides at the show’s beginning, wall cut-aways allowing us to see into the hall outside the room, and the spooky soundscape – designed by Joshua Lane – with constant low moans and creaks. Terrible past events haunt this space; as we come to understand them, note that this is for mature audiences (content includes various forms of abuse, as well as gaslighting and murder).

Performances explore the complexity of the characters’ identities while the flexible nature of stagecraft in presenting any time and place gives us little certainty. Is Susan pretending to be Veronica, or did Veronica dream up Susan? Scamacca effectively personifies the struggle. Our printed program is of no help – she is listed as “The Girl.”

Likewise, Allen is “The Young Man,” a little standoffish and hard to fathom from the start. Johnstone, “The Man,” masterfully drops clues that only add up in the end. Stapf, “The Woman,” gives a powerhouse performance that stuns with every disturbing twist.

For our Indianapolis readers, this play is well worth the drive down to Bloomington. Eclipse’s immersive approach to theatre really pays off. Remaining performances of “Veronica’s Room” are Oct. 24-26 at 122 S. Walnut St. Get info and tickets at eclipseproductionscompany.com.

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(*No relation to the “Eclipse” professional theatre program of Summer Stock Stage in Indianapolis.)  

IRT takes hilarious ‘Steps’

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By John Lyle Belden

Alfred Hitchcock was not known as the Master of Comedy, though he did appreciate dark humor. Since he’s not with us anymore, it is now up to you to see the hilarious adaptation of Hitch’s “The 39 Steps,” now on stage at Indiana Repertory Theatre.

A UK hit by Patrick Barlow from a concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, based on the Hitchcock film based on the novel by John Buchan, IRT artistic director Benjamin Hanna brings the story to life with its cast of four. Jürgen Hooper plays our central character, Richard Hannay; Tyler Meredith portrays women important to the plot; and all other roles fall to a couple of clowns – seriously, they are billed as Clown 1 and Clown 2 – exuberantly played by Ema Zivkovic and Michael Stewart Allen.

Hannay is an ordinary man living in 1930s London, feeling bored and unsatisfied with life. Fate is certainly about to fix that! During a theatre show featuring the feats of Mister Memory, a mysterious woman with a German accent sits next to Hannay, fires a pistol, and insists on going home with him. The next day, Hannay is on a train for Scotland, evading the police as he is wanted for murder, knowing just enough about a plot of international espionage to get him in even deeper trouble.

The above plot is Hitchcock’s contribution (from Buchan’s book), the rest is non-stop silliness inspired by English theatre traditions (like commedia del arte meets Monty Python) with various props in trunks, the trunks themselves, doors and windows and such on movable frames – plus inventive uses for a ladder – to enact the movie in the most funny way possible. Along the way, look for references to some of Hitch’s other thrillers.

Hooper and Meredith both charm, excellently handling the elements of both romantic mystery and farce. Zivkovic and Allen’s antics, as well as their turns as key characters, are sharply done.

Not wishing anyone ill, but notable local talents Frankie Bolda and Jay Hemphill are the understudies, and we’re sure they are well up to the task.

The Hitchcockian hilarity of “The 39 Steps” runs through Oct. 12 at 140 W. Washington St., in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at irtlive.com.

‘Misery’ still thrills at BCP

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By John Lyle Belden

In the years since Stephen King published his thriller “Misery” in 1987, there have been countless real-world stories of deranged fans stalking and even killing their celebrity obsessions. Yet this story is the most chilling, thanks in part to the William Goldman film adaptation, directed by Robert Reiner and released in 1990, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates (winning her an Oscar).

Goldman also adapted “Misery” for the stage, which Buck Creek Players now brings to life. Popular author Paul Sheldon (Mark Meyer) awakens severely injured in a remote house in the Colorado Rockies. The home belongs to Annie Wilkes (Lisa Banning), a nurse who rescued Sheldon from an auto wreck during a blizzard – and happens to be Paul’s “Number One Fan.”

Annie is obsessed with Paul’s novels about Victorian heroine Misery Chastain, and while caring for Paul reads his new non-Misery manuscript (which she hates), then makes her way into town to get the latest copy of his just-released “Misery’s Child.” She gushes over this new story, until she reaches the final chapter. Misery is dead?! Seeing this happen to her favorite character – her hero, practically a friend in her mind – enrages her beyond disbelief. Paul must write, and right this wrong!

As in the book and movie, this is an engrossing battle of wits. Paul, in a slowly-healing body, through his fog of pain, desperately seeks a way out of his entrapment. Meanwhile, Annie’s madness grows while sharpening her realization that there is only one way her and Paul’s story can end.

Aaron Beal completes the cast as Sheriff Buster, whose suspicions of what’s happening at Annie’s house grow with every visit.

Banning convincingly portrays Annie’s obsessive nature – at first fawning over Paul, later driving her to treat him like a misbehaving pet, at all times a little unbalanced – as well as her strict moral sense, with a sort of charming (at first) sense of eccentricity. It evokes in the best way the chilling transformation of Bates in the film.

Meyer tackles the role of Paul as a fairly nice regular guy who happens to have an exceptional talent for which he hides away in a mountain lodge to bang out a novel. This disruption to his routine has him forcing Paul to plot events in real life, which proves to be a lot harder than typing them to the page. His moments of pain are quite convincing – here’s hoping he wasn’t too “method.”

Jeremy Tuterow directs, and Susanne Bush designed an excellent stage set featuring Paul’s room isolated away from the more welcoming kitchen, with sight-lines that draw us in to Annie’s tightly controlled world.

Three performances remain of “Misery,” Friday through Sunday, April 4-6, at the BCP Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit off I-74). Get info and tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

Getting in our ‘Steps’

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By John Lyle Belden

In a bizarre coincidence that Alfred Hitchcock would find delightful, this last weekend saw two openings of the British thriller-turned-farce, “The 39 Steps,” adapted by Patrick Barlow from a four-hand comedy by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, heavily based on Hitchcock’s 1935 film of the same name, based somewhat on the 1915 novel by John Buchan.

The movie is notable for helping establish the drama film tropes of man-on-the-run and the potential comedy goldmine of two people who don’t get along being chained to each other. The more interesting scenes and twists? Hitch’s idea.

As noted, there are two productions spaced about three counties apart. Hyperion Players presents its “39 Steps” at the Switch Theatre in Fishers. Meanwhile, Eclipse Productions plays its version in Waldron Auditorium in downtown Bloomington.

The plot (for both): In the 1930s, Richard Hannay, a Canadian living in London, seeks diversion in a music hall featuring a performance by Mister Memory, during which he encounters a woman who ends up back at his flat (oh!), then mysteriously stabbed in the back (ugh!). She had warned Hannay of some international spy intrigue, and her death convinces him to go to Scotland – while London police seek him for the woman’s murder – to figure out what’s happening, including the identity of The Thirty-Nine Steps. On the way, he dodges a police patrol by kissing a woman on the train, who responds by turning him in to his pursuers. As luck will have it, she will later encounter him again, and again betray him. Mayhem follows Hannay up to the Highland moors and eventually back down to London for the climactic showdown that could clear his name and save England (at least for a few years).   

The Barlow script amps up the inherent humor of its Hitchcockian quirks and is staged with improvised props and four actors: one to play Hannay, one to be the women he encounters, and a couple of “Clowns” who play all the other roles.

The Hyperion production does this play silly; the Eclipse production does it weird. Both do it excellently.

In Fishers, Hyperion Players emphasizes the master of suspense. The script does have nods to other Hitchcock films, but here we also get a “Frenzy” of references in the curtain speech. Also, there are a few birds around the stage (crows, I believe, which counts as attempted “murder”).

Josh Elicker plays Hannay appropriately amused and bewildered by all the bizarre goings-on. Sarah Eberhardt is the leading lady, employing comically outrageous accents as German Annabel Schmidt and Scottish Margaret, contrasted with the more natural manner of Pamela (the woman on the train).  The Clowns are frenetically and effectively played by Becca Bartley and Ryan Moskalick, who makes a brilliant Mister Memory. Evangeline Bouw directs.

The set, designed by Beth Fike, looks like a stage with random pieces upon it like it’s between shows. The players make good use of items including a door frame, a piece of wall with a window, and a single comfy armchair. The plot moves along earnestly following the beats of the film, but in a manner showing they don’t take themselves too seriously. The result is like a spy-thriller sitcom.

Down in Bloomington, Eclipse (no relation to the summer student company in Indy) emphasizes the Clown aspect of the production. In fact, in a nod to theatre traditions including commedia dell’arte, we have one regular actor, Konnor Graber as our dashing Hannay, dealing with a small troupe of traditional costume-and-makeup clowns: Shayna Survil (the leading ladies), Steve Scott, Vera Wagler, and Jada Buehler. Having three rather than two “Clown” players makes for creative division of roles, including Mister Memory simultaneously presented by Wagler and Buehler, working almost like conjoined twins adorned in classic Tragedy and Comedy masks.

Speaking of which, assistant director Jeremy J. Weber invites all in attendance to put on one of the provided masks (yours to keep) to help immerse yourself in the goings-on. Director Kate Weber and the company arranged the seating surrounding a central area (suggesting a circus) where most of the action takes place. Gags and props are exaggerated, and a fight scene becomes like a professional bout with Survil walking the perimeter with a Ring Girl’s sign. The wild goings-on and sharply executed physical comedy almost overshadow the story’s plot. Still, this unique experience is worth the drive down to B-town.

So try one – or both! – of “The 39 Steps.”

Hyperion’s plays Thursday through Saturday at The Switch Theatre (Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy) 10029 126th St., Fishers. Tickets at hyperionplayers.com.

Eclipse’s plays Thursday through Sunday at Waldron Auditorium, 122 S. Walnut St., Bloomington. Tickets at eclipseproductionscompany.com.

Mud Creek drama worth the ‘Wait’

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By John Lyle Belden

One thing that tends to be tricky in live theatre is suspense. This is why the thriller “Wait Until Dark” by Frederick Knott is a popular choice for community companies, like the present production at Mud Creek Players, directed by Andrea Odle.

A pair of ex-cons are searching for a particular priceless doll – valuable not for its porcelain face or music box, but for also containing a highly valuable stash of uncut heroin. The woman bringing it into the country passed it to an unsuspecting photographer, Sam (Zachary Thompson), and her accomplices Mike (JB Scoble) and Carlino (Trever Brown) are in his lower-level apartment searching for it. However, the person who called them to be there is Mr. Roat (Kelly Keller), who has smoothly taken charge of the entire caper.

Sam’s wife Susy (Lexi Odle-Stollings) comes home and our criminals note that she is blind, so they can easily evade her. She hears something, and notices furniture has been moved, but blames it on Gloria (Evelyn Odom), the bratty girl who lives upstairs and often comes down to do errands for her.

Preferring finesse to violence (for now), while Sam is away on a bogus assignment, Mike pretends to be his old Marines buddy to talk Susy into divulging the location of the doll. Carlino plays a detective, and Roat adds two roles to the ruse, as the tension builds and their patience wanes. This is set in 1963, so a phone booth just down the block is a vital plot element. As Susy’s necessary attention to details starts to clue her in on what’s happening, how will she get out of this situation? Note the play’s title.

The cast also includes Sidney Blake and Thomas Burek.

Odle’s own attention to detail aids the atmosphere, taking advantage of the fact that the Mud Creek Barn isn’t a large venue, aiding our trapped feeling with lower than usual lighting. Jennifer Poynter is assistant director, and Amy Buell is stage manager.

Odle-Stollings delivers an excellent performance of a woman familiar with fear as she had been blinded only a couple of years before, still, knowing she must rely on her own strength and wits – every day to get around, and on this night as a matter of life and death. She received help from the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to effectively and respectfully portray an unsighted person.

The fact that Keller is such a nice guy offstage helps make his turn as ruthless Roat all the more disturbing. His villainy is enhanced by his own sense for detail and preparation. Scoble and Brown add a bit of humor to the mix, but we come to see the hardened criminals they play take this all very seriously.

Odom, already quite active as a Mud Creek volunteer, is also a natural on stage, playing the kid who, despite her attitude, truly wants to help – if that involves breaking things, all the better!

Suspense builds to the final scene. See what happens when the lights go out in “Wait Until Dark,” performances Thursday through Saturday at 9740 E. 86th St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at mudcreekplayers.org.

Houston-inspired musical at Footlite

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By Wendy Carson         

 I’ll begin by noting that neither John nor myself have seen the movie, “The Bodyguard,” which is the source for the musical of the same name, now on stage at Footlite. That said, this review will focus solely on the merits of the stage show, and not be complicated by comparisons that film fans will make. I was told that there were a few changes made for the story flow, but those are for others to examine and recount.

The overall plot is basic: Obsessed fan threatens pop star and experienced bodyguard is hired to protect her. Add to this a few ambition issues and romantic subplots, and the whole thing could easily boil down to a cheesy “Hallmark Movie” – yet somehow it all works together quite well. I found myself actually charmed by the spectacle.

No matter your personal opinion of Whitney Houston, she had a fierce voice. With the majority of the songs presented being what might be considered personal anthems, the show’s success or failure heavily lands on the actress/singer playing her role. Fortunately, Angela Nichols-Manlove fills those shoes almost effortlessly. She fully brings out the headstrong sassiness of Houston’s character Rachel while still showing her vulnerable side.

RC Thorne gives the titular character the firm determination of the profession but manages to highlight the fear that drives him in this endeavor. He brings believable life to the hard-boiled exterior with a soft heart archetype.

JB Scoble as The Stalker was appropriately creepy. I was quite impressed with the choreography of his interactions with various characters during the scenes he shared. However, I never felt as though the script tried to adequately explain his motivation and backstory. This weakness of the source material aside, Scoble and director Bradley Allan Lowe made our mystery man appropriately menacing.

Young Cairo Graves as Rachel’s precocious son, Fletcher, is the breakout star of the show. His talent at not stealing every scene he is a part of (which he could quite easily do) was as impressive as his scope of abilities. He is a true triple-threat who we could see delighting us for many years to come.

Melissa Urquhart is also sharp as Rachel’s sister, Nicki, around whom much of the plot twists. Additionally, she provides a powerful voice on a couple of numbers.

At our performance, Lowe ably stepped in for a supporting actor Shalmon Radford, who fell ill. (Hopefully, Radford will return this weekend.) The cast also includes Sam Hill, Robert Dooley, Carolyn Lynch, and Miranda Nehrig. Backing singers and dancers were Anya Andrews, Damaris Burgin, Kaylee Johnson Bradley, Kendell Crenshaw, Azia Ellis-Singleton (Nicki understudy), Suzana Marmolejo (Rachel U/S), DeSean McLucas, Jada Radford, and Ryley Trottier.

Whether you are a fan of the movie, or of Whitney, or just want to see something different and upbeat, this is a show that will bring you laughs, possibly tears, and make you sing along in joy.

For “All the Man That I Need” (and other hits), see “The Bodyguard,” by Alexander Dinelaris (based on a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan), playing through March 19 at Footlite Musicals, 1847 N. Alabama St., Indianapolis. Get tickets and info at Footlite.org.

Westfield presents classic drama with current feel

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By John Lyle Belden

“Night Must Fall,” a classic thriller by Emlyn Williams, who also starred in its original 1935 London production, haunts the stage of Main Street Productions in Westfield, directed by Ian Hauer.

In an English countryside estate, bitter Mrs. Bramson (Julie Wallyn) rules from her wheelchair, tolerated by sassy housekeeper Mrs. Terence (Ashley Engstrom) and timid maid Dora (Cassie Knowling), and with a hint of familial obligation by niece Olivia (Rachel Kelso), whom she uses, with unearned distrust, as a personal secretary. When we meet them, Bramson is attended to by visiting Nurse Libby (Lizzie Schultz) while milquetoast family friend Hubert (Matt Hartzburg) tries in vain to woo Olivia.

When the matron seeks to sack Dora for tardiness, the girl confesses to be pregnant. Morally outraged, Bramson nonetheless keeps the maid on the condition that the man who will be the father present himself and commit to marriage. Enter “Babyface” Dan (Adam Phillips) whose lilting peasant voice seems to carry a hypnotic note, quickly winning over the usually suspicious woman.

Soon, Scotland Yard Inspector Belsize (Ian A. Montgomery) visits, inquiring regarding the disappearance of a woman last seen at a local nightspot Dan had been known to frequent. This clinches Olivia’s already growing suspicions, but while she makes her own investigation of their handsome new houseguest, could she be slipping under his spell as well?

This drama also features Brad Staggs in an ominously foreshadowing voiceover.

Under Hauer’s direction, Williams’ script feels ahead of its time as a tense character study of sociopathy – “What’s behind his eyes?” Olivia marvels. Our 2023 audience, having seen true-crime shows, perhaps read such books and heard the podcasts, can only watch as the blind side of human nature fails to foresee what unfolds. These things couldn’t happen decades ago in beautiful genteel Essex, England – until they do.

Wallyn manages to keep Mrs. Bramson equal parts harsh and human. She is not a dupe so much as failing to realize she is being played like an instrument by a virtuoso of persuasion, which in its own way helps us to feel for her, despite her edges.

Kelso is given a lot to work with in two acts, managing to keep pace with Olivia’s odd trajectory. Engstrom adds to the humor factor with Terence’s gaelic-accented commentary, a very what-you-gonna-do-fire-me attitude that Bramson somehow respects. Knowling’s Dora is a bit of a leaf-on-the-wind character, who craves not being the center of attention and is visibly relieved when talk of marrying Dan seems to cease.

Montgomery makes the most of his few scenes as the Inspector, exuding authority while wielding it with tact. Meanwhile, Hartzburg keeps his softy Hubert fairly likable, a character sadly out of his depth who should find love in a much nicer play.

If only posh folk understood the warning of ironic nicknames like “Babyface.” Phillips eases into a character that grifts as easily as breathing. His Dan blurs the line between kind and suspicious behavior so well, he toys with the tension both on stage and among the audience right up to the end.

“Night Must Fall” four more times, Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 16-19, at the Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St. Get tickets and info at WestfieldPlayhouse.org.