Review: Penfold Theatre Co.'s A War of the Worlds

Marc Pouhé as Orson Welles in Penfold Theatre Co.'s A War of the Worlds (Photo by Kimberley Mead)

Like a towering yet slightly off-kilter Martian killing machine, this Penfold world premiere of A War of the Worlds – Jarrett King's reimagining of Orson Welles' reimagining of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds – needs a couple of screws tightened before it can annihilate an audience with its brilliance.

Thing is, we're hoping for that tightening. Because, if this were a lesser story, a duller concept, a more pedestrian reupholstering in general, we wouldn't care. If the source material – King's script, we mean, not Welles' script of Wells' novel – if it weren't so compelling and well-wrought, we could always indulge our not-quite-understood urge to see live theatre with some lesser production and not give a damn if that more mundane staging worked perfectly or not. But Jarrett King has taken the legendary Mercury Theatre radio drama of Halloween 1938 – media wunderkind Orson Welles' as-if-it-were-actually-happening presentation of H.G. Wells' Martian invasion adventure – and reconfigured it so that the Mercury players (and their genius and problematic leader) are a group of Black thespians back in radio's golden age, a group struggling to gain enough listeners so that the CBS radio network doesn't put the kibosh on their passionate broadcasting endeavors. And so, last-ditch attempt at a ratings grab, they unleash this mind-warper of a drama upon the unsuspecting public. And mayhem, of a harsh variety, ensues. And we want it to destroy us utterly.

This Penfold show is directed by Marcus McQuirter and performed by a capable crew of actors – John Christopher, Yunina Barbour-Payne, Kenah Benefield, Dane Parker, Judd Farris, Sarah Joy Byington, and Zac Carr – anchored by the (typically) magnificent Marc Pouhé as Welles. This troupe performs both as ordinary citizens and as actors-who-are-performing, and they bring a bright energy to their duties, depicting the characters' off-the-air personalities and engagements in a more casual, natural way than the studied earnestness of their radio drama roles. This contrast works well to establish a baseline reality – and to frame Welles, when challenged, as something of an invading monster himself – and so far, so good.

The screws that need tightening here are the nuts and bolts of theatricality. That stage convention where actors whose dialogue is no longer necessary nonetheless continue to mime speech as other actors voice their required lines? It's even more confounding in a show that takes place largely in an often-on-the-air radio studio, and detracts from a much-needed sense of reality. And if a production's going to use that gambit anyway, because it's an established theatrical trope? Then the same production needs to make sure the actors don't physically move beyond the invisible room boundaries established by the set – or what purpose does that beautifully built studio door serve, really? Live by the theatre, die by the theatre.

Verisimilitude in these matters is especially important when presenting a work of fiction within a work of fiction – and super important to ground the glorious intrusion of magical realism that occurs in the penultimate scene. And it is glorious, that fantastic event, as are many other details: the metafictive fourth-wall shattering by commercial interests; the director's program notes, presented as if part of a future disquisition; the excellent, character-amplifying costume designs by Desireé Humphries; the addictive sound of Marc Pouhé's voice conveying whatever emotion is called for while embodying Mr. Orson "Well, yes, I am a genius" Welles.

God and the devil are in the details in this show about a monstrous invasion from the heavens, about how who is designated as the "other" is a matter of perspective. Still, details be damned for good or bad, because the power of this cosmic Jarrett King tale staged by Penfold Theatre will reward an earthly audience's attendance.

Penfold Theatre Co.'s A War of the Worlds