Halloween Gets Started Early in Stage Thriller

After two lighter-hearted comedies, St. Louis Park-based Maggie’s Farm Theater has entered its third season with the murder mystery "Wait Until Dark," continuing at 7 p.m. this Friday and Saturday at .

The show is intended as “an open invitation to west metro adults to come and play in their own back yard,” said producer Rachel Richardson.

“We thought it was time for adults to have a fun night out in October,” said Richardson, co-founder with her husband Brad of the community-building theater, which has professional credentials and develops amateur local talent. 

The psychological thriller performed every Friday and Saturday in October traces the fate of a blind housewife, Suzy, played by Park resident Cathy Wilson, who is surrounded by hoodlums in her New York apartment.

The criminals try to retrieve a doll laced with valuable heroin that inadvertently fell into the hands of Suzy’s husband in a drug-smuggling attempt at the JFK Airport. 

“The suspense is in Suzy’s journey as she has to reach deep within herself to overcome terror and find her strength,” explained Richardson. “In the end, she comes out on top.”

The Richardsons, who lived and worked in Hollywood from 1987 to 1992 after graduating together with masters degrees in theater from the University of Arizona-Tuscon, have amassed impressive credentials, including work on an HBO special, the Coen brothers’ "A Serious Man," the second "Mighty Ducks" movie and a "Prairie Home Companion."

“But we’re like many of our actors who had a passion for theater earlier in their careers, then life (including films and kids) happened,” Richardson said. Maggie’s Farm has been like returning to a first love, she added.

“There’s nothing like live theater. You have to be tuned in," Richardson said. "Everyone knows anything can happen. The preparation is a joy to work on.”

That alongside family-raising and two full-time jobs limits the Richardsons to one finely honed production a year.

The artistic pair has blended theater, family and community as residents of St. Louis Park for 18 years. A growing vision to develop the arts locally was first seen by some when Brad wrote three original scores for , where their children attended.

“He directed those plays without knowing Spanish,” Richardson said of the fond memory.

Jesse, 17, Troy, 12, and Chloe, 9, make Maggie’s Farm a family theater in the truest sense.

Jesse, who composed the music for "Wait Until Dark," attends in Golden Valley.

“He did a wonderful job. It has exceeded our expectations,” said mom proudly.

Troy is assistant stage manager. Chloe, aspiring to tickets and programs manager, is now “No. 1 Fan.”

“There are tons of ways to get involved,” said Richardson, who uses the farm metaphor to express their collaborative, homegrown approach. “Seed planting, watering, weeding, harvesting and cleaning all go into the final feast. In theater there are props, the wardrobe, set, sound, light, and ticket sales, to name a few—all contribute to a story that provides sustenance for others. We love the glory of that.”

Maggie’s welcomes beginning actors as long as they are prepared to work hard. Ben Weisner, 51, a thug in the current production, can attest to that.

“I drove a few of my kids to an audition at Maggie’s, and before you know it, Brad had me up on the stage auditioning for a part as well," he said. "It turned out I was the one who made it into the show as a straight-laced policeman who ends up belting out a Broadway tune after swallowing a magic potion.”

It was Weisner’s first time on stage since he was a teenager, but not his last. In fact, Weisner, along with his wife and kids, were then cast as extras for "A Serious Man." He said his return to theater "never would have happened" had it not been for the Richardsons.

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IF YOU GO

What: "Wait Until Dark" by Frederick Knott

When: Every Fri. and Sat. in October, at 7 p.m.

Where: , 6715 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park

Tickets: At the door only, $10