By Ashlei Havili Thomas
War of the Worlds: The Night that Panicked America by David Hanson isn’t your typical fare for October; no ghosts or spooky stories to keep you up at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah. Instead a surreal story from fact: what if people thought aliens were invading in 1938 New Jersey? This play takes you on a blast to the past, when Hollywood was still being gilded and radio theatre was the main source of country-wide entertainment. With an almost “Twilight Zone” appeal to your mind’s gears, this fun production in the Brinton Black Box Theater will leave you wondering if mass hysteria is a thing of the past or a very possible future.
War of the Worlds: The Night that Panicked America is based on the historical events October 30, 1938 when a radio theatre performance (by CBS Radio and The Mercury Theatre on the Air) mimicking a real news broadcast of Martians invading Earth caused a panic across much of the Eastern US. Following the classic story of H.G. Wells, Orson Welles (best known for starring, writing and directing Citizen Kane) devises a radio theatre performance in which Martians invade, against the better judgment of his associates Howard Koch and John Houseman. The play includes both stories from fictional members of society at that time sharing their experiences of the broadcast as well as the creation and possible destruction of Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre.
In the play program is a small announcement: “In this production, Orson Welles is played by Cathleen Metton, an actress with the kind of big personality that drove Welles to greatness. When casting the play, the director focused on the six actors’ abilities to imbue the more than 30 characters with unique personalities and only cast those with the breadth and talent to play multiple roles. Much like the male players who embodied the classic roles of Rosalind, Juliet or Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s time, our actors give voice to many fictionalized and real-life people, and, as such, each performer plays both male and female characters throughout the show.” This explanation from the production team sums up, in brief, the strength of the cast as a whole. To portray this wide of an ensemble of characters with only six actors is a staggering feat, and the seamlessness with which they do so (with quick changes between many characters) this reviewer can only imagine is far less effortless than it seems. Metton is no exception to this, though her role as the controversial visionary Orson Welles is a large part of the play. Metton’s presence fills the small black box to bursting with cockamamie bravado and male self-assuredness. As her foil, Jacob Baird plays the British “yes-man” John Houseman with a deftness that neither emasculates the character nor gains the upper hand against Metton’s Welles, creating a pressurized impotence that explodes in the play’s second half. NaRhea Dawn (Howard) is slick and nothing if not forward and unerring, creating increasing tension between Baird and Metton’s characters with precision. Katrina DeKarver weaves through Dawn, Baird and Metton as a few different named characters in the program, but each character DeKarver brings to life is distinct. From the self-assured Zita to the bumbling Phillips, DeKarver creates masterful impressions of the heart of each character that leave the audience wanting more. Megan Richards and Jolene Croasmun carry the many ensemble of characters between them, and truly the show would fall apart without them. While some of their various crew are seen for a minute once and not again, Richards and Croasmun keep the audience wondering what will happen next with their antics.
Elizabeth Crandall’s costume, hair and makeup design is both simple and masterful. She gives each of the characters the six actors portray a unique look that makes them impossible to confuse while keeping things easy for the actors to change in and out of multiple times throughout the show. Similarly the technical direction (Robert Seely) and lighting design (Spencer Powell) are no-frills, but create a variety of locations with very little change needed. This uncomplicated approach belies the skill to take such a small space and turn it into so many settings with nothing more than handheld props and spotlights. In the talk-back following the production on October 7, dramaturg Isaac Maltby shared his thoughts about the reaction and events surrounding the infamous broadcast. Maltby’s insights into what would have driven the characters of the play are evident throughout the production, as is the hand of director Adam Cannon. Cannon’s love of radio dramas is evident throughout, with a level of care given to the historical aspects (such as a foley setup to create the sounds a radio theatre would need) rarely seen in the tech-savvy productions that are increasingly common. His overarching vision creates a night that leaves the audience with an unexpected delight and newfound love of the radio performances of yesteryear.
War of the Worlds: The Night that Panicked America is suitable for all audiences, though some of the more historical elements may be confusing to young viewers who are unaccustomed to a purely auditory storytelling platform. This doesn’t mean a young viewer would not be entranced by the play’s various charms. This Halloween story isn’t morbid, maudlin or macabre, but allows the audience to curl up and listen to a story of byegone eras and wonder what could happen if the impossible loomed large one October night. Let the Covey Center for the Arts thrill you while keeping your pants on and “scare-free.”
The Brinton Black Box Theater at Covey Center for the Arts presents War of the Worlds: The Night that Panicked America written by David Hanson.
Covey Center for the Arts 425 W Center St. Provo, UT 84601
September 28-30, October 2, 5-7, 9, 12-14, 16, 19-21 7:30 PM
Tickets: $18-20
Covey Center for the Arts website
Covey Center for the Arts FB page
War of the Worlds FB event
War of the Worlds Promo video
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