Spiral Theatre’s rendition of the play starts slowly as two recently released convicts, Mike Tolman and Carlino, await the arrival of Lisa, a woman who owes them money from dealings previous to their incarceration. Instead, a stranger who has contacted them by phone arrives in the person of one Mr. Roat, who shows up bearing an old rug picked up amongst the curb trash. Roat is looking for a doll, which Susy’s husband Sam conveyed to their home at the request of a woman at an airport in Canada. This doll, unbeknownst to Susy and Sam, contains a valuable stash of heroin, and the three men concoct a complicated scheme to find and cash in on the doll’s contents. The rug becomes significant to the plot.

Susy has just been blinded in a car accident, so Sam has elicited the help of a teenage neighbor in the upstairs apartment to assist her as she learns to cope with her affliction. Gloria is a somewhat unreliable aide, but she proves helpful when it counts.

The drama of the tale all occurs in Sam’s absence. Sam has only one scene with Susy before going off to work in his photography studio. Sam’s character is not well developed, but we get the feeling that he is pushing his wife toward independence and full functioning. Susy’s capacity to deal with her blindness is soon put to the ultimate test as she tries to cope with the psychopathic Roat and with his two henchmen, Tolman and Carlino, as they carry out their ruthless search for the heroin.

Ruth Arnell is quite believable as the harried but shrewd Susy. It is hard for the sighted to imagine and credibly convey blindness, so credit is due here. At times, she spoke too softly, however, and her hand gestures were too repetitive and sometimes became distracting, but she still deserves the acting award for this show. The other standout in the cast is Brian Richards for his portrayal of Mike Tolman. He is consistently believable as a complex character who almost convinces us that he is sympathetic to Susy.

Randall T. Anderson and Matthew J. Patten as Carlino and Roat are less consistent. Anderson seems more comfortable when he takes on the role of cop than he is in the first scene as himself. Patten could have been wilier and more sinister as Roat. This guy is supposed to really creep us out, but Patten is almost too flippant to achieve that aura. Gloria Loeding makes a real effort to try to look 14, but it is a stretch for us to buy into her role as the teenage neighbor. Nate Press as Sam has too small a role to make much impact on the overall success of the show.

The show is not as hypnotizing as the movie, though it certainly has its moments. This production never quite captures and sustains the terror the situation should have evoked in Susy and in us. The inconsistent pacing and hot and cold acting did not create the tension required for a real white-knuckler.

The set design and lighting created by Mark Hooker are very effective for creating a mood. The pace, especially in the first several scenes, is a little slow. One should feel a tension from the onset. Doug Giffin directed and was assisted by Marcy Reed as stage manager. Overall, not quite as good as previous productions I’ve seen at Spiral, but still worth a trip to Bucketworks on 6th and Vliet, just north of downtown Milwaukee. Call (414) 248-6481 to reserve tickets. It’s a very small theater, so it’s important to call to ensure a place in this intimate setting. The show runs for two more weekends on Friday and Saturday.