By Jennifer Mustoe
Taking place right now at the Covey Center for the Performing Arts in Provo is a brilliant new show, War of the Worlds, written by local playwright and director David Hanson. As I was watching this fast-paced, exciting production, I was really surprised that War of the Worlds is a world premiere. This show is tight, fun, thoroughly involving, and I credit this to tight writing by Hanson, excellent directing by Director Ben Hopkin, specific and important information from dramaturg Shelley Graham, and a troupe of six actors that works together perfectly.
War of the Worlds is based on the rather amazing and frightening radio show collaborated on and presented by Orson Welles (Derek Johnson), John Houseman (Curtiss Cluff), and Howard Koch (Brandon Henderson) broadcast on October 30, 1938. For those who are not familiar with what happened, in a nutshell, Wells and Koch wrote a radio show that was broadcast as fact–that the world was being invaded by Martians, based on the story War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Orson Welles was sure that the listening audience would know this wasn’t real, that it was just a story, but to many who were listening, they believed it was fact. And freaked out. What Hanson has done is combine the actual script of the original broadcast, dialogue between the actors leading up to, during, and after the show, and told an exciting story that is some behind the scenes, some from the live show, and it’s very effective.
Three other female actors play dozens of other parts–often playing male roles. This added a delightful piece to this show. Hannah Witken, Mariah Bowles, and Alice Johnson are lively, inventive, very believable, and the fastest costume change artists I’ve ever seen. By using mannerisms (watching these women as men is a hoot), costume changes, vocal changes and dialects, these women flesh out the story. They play actors broadcasting the show and also play characters whose dialogue comes from authentic accounts of persons involved during the time the broadcast happened. Back and forth, switch, switch, switch. The audience was asked to be part of the broadcast when signs were held up: Talk, Gasp, Murmur, Scream. It was great. The show takes off at the beginning and never stops.
The conversations between the men, Wells, Houseman, and Koch, feel very real, as if we are flies on the wall in 1938. None of it felt forced or fake. I loved the synergy between the three actors. Johnson’s Wells is very good–boy, what a jerk Orson Wells was. Johnson is superior and condescending in all the right ways. Cluff as John is wonderful–spot on accent, able to be the soft best friend type but the what do you think you’re doing kind of friend to Wells. Very believable. Henderson as Koch, the hapless writer who constantly got blindsided by Welles is great–and in the talk back after the show, Henderson said he’d always wanted to do theater and this is his first role. He is doing splendidly for his first time on the boards.
Costumes by Nancy Cannon are marvelous. Very vintage and perfect to help us feel like we are really in a studio in 1938. The tech folks in this show, Pam Davis, Technical Director and Assistant Technical Director John Cluff are beyond amazing with all the radio sounds created for this show. Lots of fun.
I can’t even imagine what it would be like to direct a show that has so much going on, from present to past to future, from this character to the next, and the next and the next, but Hopkin and Assistant Director Chelsea Hickman bring it all together fantastically.
The Covey brings a fun Halloween offering this year with War of the Worlds. It is fun, it’s fast, and actually, I feel it is a wonderful look at the past and how and why things were as they were then, and can help us understand how far we’ve come. And how far we haven’t. This is a show I’d recommend for kids maybe 8 and up. Some loud noises may upset very sensitive folks, but it’s really just fun. Bring your friends and family to the Covey’s War of the Worlds and see what life was like before TV. You will be highly entertained and feel like you learned a thing or two, as well.
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The Covey Center for the Performing Arts presents War of the Worlds by David Hanson
The Covey Center for the Performing Arts, 425 Center St, Provo, UT 84601
October 5-28 Mon, Thurs-Saturday 7:30 PM
Tickets: $16, $14 children, students, seniors
Contact: 801-852-7007
Covey Center for the Arts Facebook Page
War of the Worlds Facebook Event
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