'War of the Worlds' and 'The Lost World' To Play at Brooklyn College Starting 10/26

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College opens its 2008-2009 season with a sci-fi double bill, War of the Worlds and The Lost World, presented by America’s premiere radio theatre company, L.A. Theatre Works, on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 3pm. This performance is the first in Brooklyn Center’s Theater series.

War of the Worlds and The Lost World will be directed by John de Lancie (Q on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”). The cast includes JosH Clark (Broadway: Execution of Justice, The Man Who Came to Dinner. Off-Broadway: Roundabout, MTC, American Place Theater. Television: Lieutenant Joe Carey on “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Heroes,” “Numb3rs”); Kyle Colerider-Krugh (ALLIANCE THEATRE, Cleveland Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, “Numb3rs,” “Without A Trace,” “ER”); Jen Dede (“Entourage,” “E.R.,” “Gilmore Girls”); Jerry Hardin (Deep Throat from “The X Files,” “Star Trek: Voyager”, ”Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Quantum Leap”); Peter McDonald (“E.R.,” “Becker,” “Beverly Hills 90210”); and Kenneth Alan Williams (seven productions with L.A. Theatre Works, “Passions,” “Will & Grace,” “E.R.,” “Chicago Hope.”)

War of the Worlds was originally performed on October 30, 1938 by Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre of the Air as a live 60-minute radio broadcast that reported an “eyewitness report” of an invasion from Mars. It used an updated adaptation of H.G. Wells’ original 1898 novel, authored by one of Welles’ writers, Howard Koch, who changed the time and location from Victorian England to a small town on the East Coast of the United States in 1938, making the story more personal for listeners.  Although repeated announcements were made emphasizing the fictional nature of the story, it was taken as fact by thousands of Americans, causing widespread panic.  According to The New York Times the broadcast “disrupted households, interrupted religious services, created traffic jams and clogged communication systems… at least a score of adults required medical treatment for shock and hysteria.” 

 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel The Lost World follows the exploits of Professor Challenger, who leads a scientific expedition deep into the Amazon jungle, claiming that prehistoric animals still exist.  Cut off from the outside world on a primeval plateau, the fearless explorers discover a place where dinosaurs have evolved beside ape-men and the fate of the human race hangs in the balance.

About L.A. Theatre Works

Under the leadership of Producing Director, Susan Albert Loewenberg, L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) has been the foremost radio theater company in the United States for two decades. Broadcast in America on NPR and XM Satellite Radio, internationally on the BBC, CBC, Voice of America and many other English language networks, LATW has single-handedly brought the finest recorded dramatic literature into the homes of millions. Works by Eugene O’Neill, David Henry Hwang, Athol Fugard, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil Simon, David Mamet, Charlayne Woodard, Arthur Miller, and others have been performed and recorded by LATW with casts of the most critically acclaimed film and stage actors. LATW’s Audio Theatre Collection includes more than 400 classics and is available in over 8,000 libraries. LATW has received awards from the Audio Publishers Association, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Publisher’s Weekly, Writer's Guild of America, American Library Association, Grammy Awards and many others. For more information on these programs, LATW’s Audio Theatre Collection, national radio broadcast information and other exciting projects, visit www.latw.org.

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse communities, at affordable prices.  Brooklyn Center’s presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400 seat Walt Whitman Theatre each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving schoolchildren from over 225 schools annually

 

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