Review: WAR OF THE WORLDS at Scena Theatre Will Have You On the Edge of Your Seat

Taking a trip to the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street will also transport you to a time when radio was king and one of the princes of the medium was the maverick actor-director Orson Welles. Welles and his Mercury Theatre Company on the Air produced a series of classic dramas on CBS Radio in the 1930s. Their most infamous broadcast was their adaptation of the H.G. Wells scifi classic "The War of the Worlds, sent over the airwaves on October 30, 1938 from New York City.

That historic and iconic radio play has been translated to a new medium - the stage - by Scena Theatre in a riveting adaptation by Robert McNamara who also directed the production. Crackling with the excitement of live radio, Scena captures the ingenuity, talent and drama of that night. McNamara's savvy cast of actors, coupled with the old fashioned sound effects and stylish period wardrobe, offers a chance to see an artistic reenactment of Welles and company's WAR OF THE WORLDS that sent shockwaves through the nation.

How did a radio drama based on a well-known science fiction novel fool America into thinking destructive aliens had landed in New Jersey and were wreaking havoc everywhere? Instead of a straight forward retelling of the H.G. Wells novel, Orson Welles and co-writer Howard Koch concocted the ingenious plan to disguise the story of the Martian invasion as a typical night's programming of dance music and news break-ins, building to the climatic battles and a lone surviving eye-witness reporting the horrors surrounding him.

By the end of the broadcast - as presented by Scena - a CBS Radio network executive

intervenes and forces Welles to deliver the coda, revealing the Halloween prank. Meanwhile, listeners were glued to their radios and many of them took the bait hook, line and sinker. How were they fooled so easily? The real reasons may remain a mystery in my humble opinion (and some more recent assessments have suggested the impact of the broadcast was not as widespread as legend has it.)

However, certainly some of the folks out in radio land were indeed duped and thought that the invaders from Mars would surely zap them at any time. McNamara cleverly places among the audience members at Atlas a "chorus" of citizens, each one representing a cross section of the listening public. Charlotte Akin, Jen Bevan, Gary DuBreuil, Amanda Fordstrom, and Ellie Nicoll listen intently as a housewife, a bobby soxer, a Brooklyn youth, a secretary, and a society dame (respectively). Each one of the citizens pops up throughout the recreated broadcast to help build the momentum of the impending drama. As I saw it, the acting of the members of the chorus was at times more melodramatic than the pseudo-radio company. But their place in the presentation is clear, sharing the experience with the actual audience in real time.

The theatrical adaptation begins just as the radio cast is entering the studio to take their places at the microphones. Joking around, checking their scripts and noting last minute changes are all part of the hubbub before the "on air" light glows and the cast recreates the historic broadcast.

Centerstage is Zach Roberts as the devilishly handsome and charismatic Welles, evoking the magnificent voice, plummy ego and masterful control of the radio drama. It was a delight to see how Roberts' intense delivery of Welles lines - as expert astronomer Prof. Pierson - co-mingled with his precise conducting of his tight company of radio players and crew.

Roberts is joined by a fine ensemble representing the other members of Welles' stage and radio company. Jim Jorgensen has a field day in the juicy role of John Houseman (complete with some of the venerable actor's unique vocal deliveries). With a mellifluous and cultured voice, Buck O'Leary brings gravitas to his performances as the Secretary of the Interior warning listeners that all is lost in the battle with the Martians. The Scena cast is uniformly good, including turns from Doug Krehbel, Kim Curtis, Mick McGuire, Steve Lebens, and Brian McDermott.

The production leans towards simplicity, which works for what is a reenactment of an old time radio show. The show's low-key stagecraft is also likely due to the fact that Scena is taking the show on the road to the Czech Republic for the Prague Fringe Festival after their run on H Street. With a running time of just over an hour, performed in such an engaging and clever manner, Scena has made a wise choice for quick escapist show for audiences here at home and abroad. I have seen other radio plays adapted for the stage - IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE - THE RADIO PLAY comes to mind - and most of them leave me with a ho-hum feeling. McNamara and company have caught on to the edge of your seat excitement of one of radio's greatest and most entertaining broadcasts.

Follow Jeffrey Walker on Twitter @jeffwalker66

War of the Worlds!

by Orson Welles and Howard Koch, adapted and directed by Robert McNamara

May 12 - 28, 2015

70 minutes, no intermission. ATLAS Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE, WDC. Get tickets HERE or call the Atlas box office 202.399.7993

PHOTO CREDIT: Jae Yi Photography

Opening Night: May 12, 2016

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