Sightless but not helpless, threatened but not thwarted, Susy Hendrix doesn’t know thugs want a doll they suspect is somewhere in her Greenwich Village apartment.

The hoods — con men and druggies — invade her space and create tension and terror. For the audience it spells chills and thrills, especially when the lights go out.

Such is the premise of Frederick Knott’s “Wait Until Dark,” a journey into paranoia, now at Manoa Valley Theatre. A 1967 film starring Audrey Hepburn as the determined and indefatigable Susy is probably the most iconic version of this thriller.

Even if you know the story, “Wait Until Dark” is a study of survival against the odds.

The blackout scene, midway in Act 2, is a watermark moment in the Hepburn film; when the screen becomes totally dark, you can hear only shuffling movements for several ticking seconds, till the lights of the door-open fridge reveal the terror facing Susy, who fears for her life.

At MVT the paranoia and tension meter runs high, notably during that minute- plus pitch-black scene. Couldn’t confirm on my wristwatch, since the theater was totally dark. But you could hear the scuffling and struggling before seeing Susy negotiating with her intruder when that fridge provides illumination.

As Susy, Lauren Murata plays blindness with conviction and confidence; she is the pillar in this mystery, navigating around her apartment like she has vision (the blindness resulted from a car accident). Relying on survival skills — fueled by her enhanced sense of smell and sound — she confronts her terrorists in what is a textbook cat-and-mouse situation. She more than equalizes the playing field; she outfoxes her antagonists.

Gregory Suenaga makes for a sinister Harry Roat Jr., with an appropriate vicious veneer, though he stumbled over a few lines in Saturday night’s performance. Christopher Denton, as Mike Talman, has the task of convincing Susy that the item the infiltrators are searching for — a musical doll containing some precious cargo — is somewhere in her basement apartment, transported to her home by her traveling husband, Sam, played by Logan Wilkin with supportive but challenging demands on Susy.

She never quite worked out with finesse the advice of her husband to remember the perimeters of their apartment, particularly where the ice box’s plug was located. Thus, she has to rely on her inherent human survival skills to combat her terrorists, who briefly grovel as if blind when the lights go out. Must be true when you lack one sense, the others equalize the playing field.

As Sergeant Carlino, Stu Hirayama could be more menacing and often borders on being comedic in goading Susy for data.

Jodie Kiyokawa as Gloria — a precocious kid — has equal bursts of loyalty to and disdain of Susy, and serves as her day-to-day eyes and confidante.

Director Peggy Anne Siegmund (assisted by Denise- Aiko Chinen) had her foot on the gas pedal for this one, alternating from cruising and speeding depending on the moment. Thus, this theatrical vehicle, with steady footing, triggered both the calm and the calamity of the storyline and controlled the heartbeat of the audience right up to the climactic conclusion.

DeAnne Kennedy’s set and scenics provide a comfy apartment space with brick-and-scrim accents, the latter providing silhouette visual glimpses of folks coming to and leaving the home. Loved the old-fashioned three-legged washing machine and companion stove, plus details like the cafe-curtain door treatment beneath the sink.

Janine Myers’s lighting design is the key to the visual puzzle; lighting the space was relatively routine, but she makes darkness a character during those tense minutes. Even the house exit signs were dimmed to further enhance the blackout experience.

The collaboration and coordination from the production team — costumes (James Corry), hair and makeup (Lisa Ponce de Leon), sound (Chad McComas), technical design (Justin Fragiao), props (Sara Ward), production management (Braddoc DeCaires) and stage management (Nai‘a Aguirre) — add up to a true team effort.