'War of the Worlds' coming; 'Little Shop' continues; etiquette rules

A stage adaption of the 1938 radio classic "War of the Worlds" opens at the St. Joseph's Cultural Center in Grass Valley on Halloween weekend.

The Orson Welles Mercury Theatre on the Air production of the H.G. Wells science fiction novel skillfully created a live, breaking-news format — the first of its kind.

The novel was adapted to radio by Welles and Howard Koch. Welles went on to write, direct and star in "Citizen Kane." Koch later co-wrote the movie "Casablanca."

The 1939 show also opened on Halloween weekend those many years ago. It riveted the nation, sending some radio listeners into near panic.

People hid in cellars, mistook water towers for Martian war machines and generally took every word of the show as the gospel truth, according to Margot Malone, who worked on the local stage adaption and co-directs the show for Community Players of Nevada County.

"It was guerrilla street theater before people had a name for it. The amazing performances of (the) Mercury Theatre on the Air ensemble convinced the nation that we were under attack," Malone said.

The idea of the Grass Valley stage production "is to re-create the look and feel of what it might have been like in the studio the night this radio drama was first performed," Malone said.

"This is not just another re-creation of a radio play or just a concert reading of people in front of microphones, but the organic operation of actors and sound as it was done in a 1938 recording studio as a live radio show is going on and being broadcast to the entire nation. In terms of staging, the cast will show what is going on in the studio when they are on and off mike," Malone explained.

A Foley sound master and assistants will be on stage creating authentic sound effects, with a minimal use of the sound cueing and other 21st-century radio effects on stage, she said.

This production will be at St. Joseph's Cultural Center, 410 S. Church St., Grass Valley.

Performances from Oct. 30 through Nov 14 will be at 7:30 p.m. and cost $15 for adults and $12 for children under 12.

Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m.

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Meanwhile, the rock musical "Little Shop of Horrors" rolls on at The Acting Company in Yuba City, with the last show set for Nov. 1.

Co-directed by Debbie Collier and Heather Cowell, this is probably one of the best shows TAC has put on. It has top-notch acting, singing, sets and costumes.

It is all about Seymour (Keith Gagnon), a nerd working in a failing florist shop. He is desperately in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey (Elizabeth Halvorsen). But Audrey is in a relationship with an abusive boyfriend (Jeff Graham).

Seymour saves shop owner Mushnik (Chris Collier) from having to shut the shop down when he reveals a strange plant he has developed. The plant immediately draws customers.

But this odd plant just keeps growing and soon reveals a thirst for human blood.

Collier is also the music director. She has done a good job of balancing the recorded music and the singers.

TAC is at 815 B St., Yuba City. Tickets are $15.

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And now for a few closing remarks on theater etiquette. Regular theater-goers already know these rules, but it seems first-timers and occasional show-goers are oblivious to them. Here are some basic tips.

• Arrive on time. Allow a few minutes to buy tickets and get seated before the curtain goes up.

• Remove all hats. The person behind you paid to see the show, not the bill of your baseball cap.

• Theaters in the area have no particular dress code, but it is a mark of courtesy to the actors to dress neatly in pants and a shirt. Cut-offs and T-shirts may be fine for a baseball game, but they are out of place in theaters.

• Turn off cell phones and beepers. Unwrap candies before the show starts.

• If it is a musical and there is an overture, stop talking.

• Contract requirements generally forbid photographs and videos of the performance. If you have someone in the show, take their photo after the final curtain.

• Antsy children and those under 4 years should be left at home. Older children are usually fine, but they are shorter and can't see over larger adults. This can lead to noise and fidgeting.

A theater in Nevada City putting on shows directed at younger kids solved this problem by allocating the first few front rows to them, with the adults sitting behind them. The parents were able to monitor the kids and the youngsters didn't have to stand on the seat to see the show.

Now, I'm not the only one carping about this. Several books and numerous magazine articles have been written about it, including the 125-page 1998 book "Stage Managing and Theatre Etiquette: A Basic Guide," by Linda Apperson.