Theatre in the Dark's second production, following its fall 2019 noir mystery THREE STORIES UP, will be an original audio drama adaptation of H.G. Wells' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. The new script by company founders Corey Bradberry and Mack Gordon is titled A WAR OF THE WORLDS, and while it follows the contours of Wells' story of a Martian invasion, it moves the action from 1890s England to present day Illinois, with settings in Chicago and other parts of the state. The audio drama will be performed live online six times per week from October 15 to November 21. PRESS OPENING is Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 8 pm.
In Bradberry and Gordon's retelling, the leading character is named
H.G. Wells. This Wells is a 21st century Chicagoland 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 two-year-old Theatre in the Dark, dedicated to making theater exclusively through sound, will use the human voice, music, and sound effects in the tradition of the great radio dramas of the 1920s through the 1950s to create this thrilling and suspenseful take on the Wells story.
Bradberry says, "Before the COVID restrictions prohibiting large group gatherings, we had initially planned A WAR OF THE WORLDS to be performed in a completely dark theatre space, as was THREE STORIES UP. Fortunately for us, our company aesthetic of audio-only drama lent itself to the online medium of Zoom-enabled performance and we began to plan the production for an online presentation, with actors and Foley artists performing via Zoom from their home studios. A WAR OF THE WORLDS will be a virtual audio drama for audiences to enjoy in their own home as people did in the golden age of radio dramas. Audiences will be encouraged to listen to the broadcast in small groups - to relax and settle in a dark space with wine and food before submitting to the horrifying thought of an invasion from another planet."
Theatre in the Dark's production will honor the legendary 1938
Orson Welles' broadcast of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, though it will update the story, use current production technology, and employ a contemporary aesthetic. Welles' Mercury Theater adaptation of the novel was broadcast to a national audience on a Halloween eve - October 30, 1938. Legend has it that Welles's script, structured as a series of faux news reports, led some listeners to believe the planet was under attack by aliens from another planet. The CBS radio network was flooded with calls from panicked listeners. This sort of mass hysteria is not expected from the Theatre in the Dark's performances, though the company will perform A WAR OF THE WORLDS on the 82nd anniversary date of the Welles' broadcast as well as 28 other dates throughout the Halloween season and beyond.
The production will include original music and additional sound design by Ben Zucker.
Brandon Boler, Marjorie Muller, and Zachary Parkhurst are Associate Producers. Casting will be announced later. Tickets will be pay-what-you-can ($20-$25 suggested donation) and will go on sale September 1 at
www.theatreinthedark.com.
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