The two-year-old company Theatre in the Dark, dedicated to making theater exclusively through sound, has made recordings of all three of its critically acclaimed virtual audio dramas from 2020 available on demand. The three productions, each of which were originally performed live at scheduled public online performances, are THREE STORIES UP, A WAR OF THE WORLDS, and A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK. Each of the available programs is a recording of a live performance. The productions use the human voice, music, and 21st Century sound effects in the tradition of the great radio dramas of the 1920s through the 1950s to tell their stories. The recordings are available now for $20.00 per listening at www.theatreinthedark.com
THREE STORIES UP - an original mystery by company co-founder
Mack Gordon in the tradition of noir thrillers like THE MALTESE FALCON - was the company's first production. It was originally performed live in-person, in complete darkness, in fall of 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down theaters in March 2020, the company remounted the mystery with live performances online in May. As the pandemic progressed, the company shifted plans for an in-person audio-only performance of its own adaptation of
H.G. Wells' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS to an online event performed live in October and November. Theatre in the Dark immediately followed that successful run with their original adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, entitled A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK, that played in December.
In THREE STORIES UP, Vancouver transit cop Beatrice Dulaurier has found her detective husband's dead body. The police call it a suicide, but Beatrice doesn't buy that explanation. To find the truth, she enlists the help of her late husband's last known informant, a drug runner who carries secrets of his own. The two embark on a hair-raising investigation through the city's colorful characters in search of justice... and revenge. Inspired by hard-boiled paperback novels and the radio mystery plays of the '30s and '40s, it introduces the audience to sadder-but-wiser, hard-boiled detectives and shady characters whose loyalties are never certain. Theatre in the Dark co-founder
Corey Bradberry directed
Mack Gordon and Bethany Arrington.
BUZZ CENTER STAGE called the company's THREE STORIES UP "a gripping 80-minute drama" and "a must see as one of Chicago's more creative theatre adventures." CHICAGO THEATRE REVIEW said it was "flawlessly executed."
A WAR OF THE WORLDS, adapted from the Wells novel by
Mack Gordon and
Corey Bradberry, follows the contours of Wells' story of a Martian invasion, but it moves the action from 1890s England to present day Illinois, with settings in Chicago and other parts of the state. Bradberry directed a cast including
Mack Gordon (
H.G. Wells), Alex Morales (Dr. Ogilvy), Elizabeth McCoy (Isabel Wells), Ming Hudson (The Professor), Lauren Ezzo (Ensemble), and Robinson J. Cyprian (Ensemble).
In Bradberry and Gordon's retelling, the leading character is named
H.G. Wells. This Wells is a 21st century science journalist thrust into the events of an alien invasion after a meteor from the "Red Planet" Mars crashes 70 miles outside Chicago at the start of the new decade. Separated from family, friends, and everything they have ever known, the eclectic cast of Chicagoland characters must do everything in their power to survive as our world comes crashing down around them. As the Martians reveal their deadly Heat-Ray and their true intentions, whirling our characters into hair-raising chases across Chicago, one question remains: is life on Earth doomed? The production includes original music by Ben Zucker with additional sound design by Zucker, Bradberry, and Ross Burlingame.
The CHICAGO READER called Theatre in the Dark's A WAR OF THE WORLDS "a stylish and compelling adaptation." RESCRIPTED said it "skillfully adapts the novel with captivating language that matches the production's renowned predecessors."
Theatre in the Dark's signature audio style recreates Ebenezer Scrooge's infamous Christmas Eve journey from darkness into light, in A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK - perfect for those who love the spookier elements of Dickens' story.
Mack Gordon directs. The cast includes Producing Artistic Director
Corey Bradberry as Scrooge, and Gordon, Sarah Althen, and Kathleen Puls Andrade as dozens of other characters.
RESCRIPTED said, "the story felt alive with each inner breath of the ghosts, or every background strum of guitar ... In addition to the poignantly written tale and expert audio engineering, the themes are improved even more by the exceptional voice acting of the small but mighty cast who often performed multiple characters." AROUND THE TOWN CHICAGO called it a "masterful adaptation."
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