Nevada County theater does fine recreation of 'War of the Worlds'

The Community Players of Nevada County did a fine, fine job with their fast-paced stage adaptation of the radio version of author H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds."

The 1938 Mercury Theatre on Air production of "War of the Worlds" was written by Howard Koch (of "Casablanca" fame), produced by John Houseman (winner of an Academy Award for the 1973 movie "Paper Chase") and directed by Orson Welles (star and director of "Citizen Kane").

This particular production of the infamous tale of aliens invading Earth was further adapted for local theater by Nevada County's Margot Malone, a science fiction buff and horror film fan who has some personal recollections regarding UFOs.

"I first heard about Mr. Welles' 'War of the Worlds' when I was a child in the '50s," said Malone, who directed the Nevada County production.

"At about the same time my father revealed he was working on 'crash retrieval' for the U.S. military and told me that if this got out to the public, it would cause major panic," she recalled.

Tim Murray was co-producer and co-director with Malone.

This adaption includes all of the original radio script. Added to and mixed in with this was a backstage glimpse at how the radio production crew achieved the sound effects that dramatized the story.

Foley master Kevin Taylor coordinated the pre-recorded sound effects with live sound effects produced by Foley walkers Zack Taylor (who would throw himself on the stage floor to simulate the death of a character) and Tyler Robin (who would tread in a sand-filled "walk box" to sound like people moving from here to there).

But the core of this show was the excellent performances delivered by the five actors in the central cast of the original Mercury Theatre on Air production.

Leading them was Sean Dooley, who played Orson Welles and Professor Pierson, one of the few survivors of the alien invasion. Dooley recreated Welles in voice and action. Why, he even looked like Welles — before he got fat, of course.

Amazingly, this appears to be Dooley's first stage role. If so, he has an acting future ahead of him.

The cast of 11 was small, and all had multiple roles, but here we are concentrating on the Mercury players.

Tim Murray delivered a strong performance as John Houseman, Welles' co-producer of "War of the Worlds." He also "rhubarbed" a lot as a Mercury Theatre player.

Filling out the Mercury Theatre players cast were Jack Meeks, Ronna Lee Joseph-Murray and Walt Webb II.

All three have stage experience. Meeks is a local television producer who has had stage roles in "Paint Your Wagon" and "Oliver!" Long-time musical theater producer Joseph-Murray was in "Paint Your Wagon" and played Renfield in "Dracula."

Singer-songwriter Webb has appeared in feature films, including "Beastmaster," and had stage roles in plays such as "The Skill of Pericles" and "Evolution of Humankind."

In sum, if you missed "War of the Worlds," you missed a lot of good acting.

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Joaquina Johnson, director of "The Gift of the Magi," explained why I was having trouble following soprano Kathryn Donovan Rueb and mezzo soprano Bronwyn Eisermann in the high notes.

"I do agree with you that it is always easier to understand the male voice because of the tessitura of their roles. The higher pitches are always more difficult to understand, especially in a live hall like the Lee Burrows Performing Arts Center," Johnson said.

Armed with that knowledge, I returned to another performance of the same play, and by keying in on the tessitura, I was able to distinguish nearly 90 percent of what I'd missed before — and Rueb and Eisermann were terrific.

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The off-beat production of "Who Killed Santa Claus" opens at The Acting Company in Yuba City on Friday and runs through Dec. 20.

Written by Terence Freely and directed by Yuba City's Gail Carter, it is billed as "not your typical holiday fare but a quirky holiday murder mystery."

The mystery is whether someone is trying to kill popular children's television host Barbara Love. She thinks someone is, so she invites all those she suspects to her annual Christmas Eve dinner party, where she presumably plans to weed them out until she finds her stalker.

Due to language and subject matter, "Who Killed Santa Claus" is not recommended for anyone under 13, Carter advises.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with matinees at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15. TAC theater is located at 815 B St., Yuba City.

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Elsewhere, a stage version of "Miracle on 34th Street" is coming to the Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad St., Nevada City, Friday and will continue through Dec. 27, according to a spokesperson for LeGacy Productions.

This is a stage adaption of the 1947 film classic that was written by Valentine Davies and starred Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle. He won a best supporting actor Oscar for the role.

This perennial holiday favorite also featured Maureen O'Hara, John Payne and — ready? — 9-year-old Natalie Wood.

Veteran Nevada County actor Robert Rossman stars as Kris Kringle, with Theo Black taking up the role of his defense attorney, Fred Gailey.

Jennifer Seim plays Doris Walker, a single mother who refuses to let her daughter, Susan, believe in fairy tales and legends, including Santa Claus. This role is double cast with Madeline Hennessy and Mia Whisesand.

"Miracle on 34th Street" plays 7 p.m. Thursdays and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. There are 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

There will be a special 2 p.m. Christmas Eve show Dec. 24 — but note this and note it well: There will be no show that evening or on Christmas Day.

Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door. Advance sales are available at Harmony Books in Nevada City, The Bookseller in Grass Valley or online at www.legacypresents.com. Call 913-2826 for more information.