War of the Worlds, Classic Center, 10/13/07

by Kathryn Durfee
10/13/2007

A meteorite has crashed to earth in Winder. At least that's what the first report in John Kundert-Gibbs's adaptation of The War of the Worlds proclaims.

On October 13th, Kundert-Gibbs' revival was put on at the Classic Center by the University of Georgia Department of Theater and Film Studies in a one-time-only performance. The play was broadcast simultaneously online and on the radio station WUGA.

War of the Worlds has had a complicated past. Written by H.G. Wells' in 1898, it was turned into a radio play by Orsen Welles in 1938. The original broadcast caused mass panic as listeners dependent on the radio for news believed they were listening to a real broadcast of an alien invasion. Since 1938, there have been multiple versions of the play including a 1953 movie, a 1988 broadcast celebrating the 50th anniversary of the radio program and even a Steven Speilberg version, a special-effects feast complete with Tom Cruise.

Kundert-Gibbs has given the script numerous updates to make it meaningful to a contemporary audience. Just as earlier versions have played the alien attack off of fears of the time, the director has added allusions to terrorism and concern for the availability of our troops in the event of such a disaster.

In today's world, people are not dependent solely on the radio for news. Thus, it would be quite difficult for a present-day audience to mistake the play for reality. Nonetheless, the FCC requires that the production be interrupted every fifteen minutes in order to announce that what listeners are hearing is a work of fiction.

Walking into the Classic Center on Saturday night felt almost like stepping back in time. People were dressed as if going to the theater (a rare and nice change of pace in a college town), and the audience seemed eager to take part in what can only be described as an event. How many times nowadays can you witness and even take part in a radio play?

The set was limited -- a black curtain covered most of the stage, leaving room for only eight chairs (for the actors not providing voices in the current scene), microphones, and a table full of props used for sound effects. Without a costume designer, Kundert-Gibbs decided to again reference "the old days of radio" by having everyone sport dress attire, just as Orsen Welles did for his broadcast.

The sound effects were the most creative part of the performance. All performed on stage, they consisted of gun shots and helicopter noises provided by a keyboard to a knife plunged into a watermelon to represent an alien skewering a boy and a broom on a couch cushion to act as the sound of an alien leg slicing a woman in half. Other effects were achieved with fans, pop guns, hair brushes on cookie sheets, rubber gloves, and other sundry items that can be found in most households. An ordinary student desk was transformed into a military tank, for example.

Each of the eight actors shone throughout the play while providing different voices for over thirty different characters. UGA student George Akers of Atlanta played a military commander, a farmer named Wayne, the crazy Brother Jebb, convinced that the alien attack is God's way of punishing sinners (I wonder what the Scientologists would say?); and Mr. Yakamoto, a Japanese man reporting the alien attack on Hiroshima. Other actors included graduate students Amy Roeder and Brandon Wentz, and undergraduates Kim Fasone, Bradley Golub, Anna Wilensky, Katelyn Foley and Martin Smith. Sound design was done by Brian Arnold.

Overall, the play speaks to the concerns of a modern audience. Though listeners may not necessarily fall for the trick again, audiences can relate to the fear of an unknown future that overtakes the characters. It is unfortunate that this was a one-tim performance. Kundert-Gibbs' War of the Worlds is an excellent revival of a classic story. The lack of special effects allows viewers to concentrate on and connect with the characters, since the actors have little more than their voices to bring these people to life.

War of the Worlds was a perfect pre-Halloween treat. And best of all, there was no Tom Cruise.