The Intergalactic Nemesis Book Two: Robot Planet Rising Comes to Eccles Center, 2/16

The Eccles Center is poised to launch an adventure in entertainment with a second - and new - installation of The Intergalactic Nemesis. For the uninitiated, this unique, "live-action graphic novel" blends comic book-style drawings (projected onto a giant screen), actors performing radio drama on stage, music, kapow-like sound effects and utter escapism. Book Two: Robot Planet Rising takes audiences into stellar and unchartered terrain on Saturday, February 16. Show is recommended for all ages (including children ages 7 and older). The journey begins at 7: 30 p.m.

Yes, Molly Sloan and her intrepid sidekick are back along with an "interspatial temporal quantum physicist" - as they face alien challenges of epic proportions. No, audiences need not be familiar with Book One (last year's Intergalactic Nemesis show) to follow the story or to relish this leap of imagination and creativity.

The Austin Post writes, "I felt like the nerdy little 10-year-old kid that I once was, bouncing off the walls and grinning as I talked to my friend about my favorite parts." And, according to Broadway World, "You'll be amazed and entertained!"

Produced and directed by Jason Neulander, "Robot Planet Rising" takes audiences back to the year 1933. When the robot emissary Elbee-Dee-Oh disappears in deep space, it's up to Molly to rescue him. If only it were that simple. Because at that same time, and unbeknownst to her, her former fiancé Dr. Lawrence Webster has miraculously arrived on Robonovia, the Cerebretron is malfunctioning, Timmy has only just begun to master his telekinetic powers, a sinister robot named Alphatron is up to something terribly nefarious, and the duplicitous Soviet spy Natasha Zorokov has followed Dr. Webster through the Galactascope. Will it all get sorted out? Or is there another, more evil, thread to this complex tapestry? All will be revealed on February 16.
This mash-up of the radio play and comic book involves more than 1,000 images and a two-hour (including a 20-minute intermission) story. The creators essentially take comic-book artwork, remove the word balloons, and project it panel-by-panel on a huge screen while three actors (Danu Uribe, Jason Phelps and Christopher Lee Gibson) voice all the characters, one Foley Artist (Buzz Moran) creates hundreds of sound effects, and a keyboardist (Kenneth Redding, Jr.) performs the score.

"This fantastically fun show is just awesome," says PCPAF executive director Teri Orr. "Last February, the intergalactic crew utterly astonished our audience with their captivating adventure - and artistry. It flew by in a delightful blink - and the kid in each of us just can't wait for the new book to unfold onstage."