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Show 276 Connor Rickman THE PRODUCTION OF: JEFF WAYNE'S MUSICAL VERSION OF: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS Connor Rickman (Sydney Cheek-O'Donnell) Department of Theatre Studies University of Utah honors college spring 2012 H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds has inspired many adaptations by the artists of the twentieth century and beyond. From the infamous Orson Welles radio broadcast to the recent Steven Spielberg block-buster, this story has consistently been updated and adapted, making it a staple of twentieth century storytelling. H.G Wells' novel serves as the source material for multiple adaptations. I found, however, that very little of the story stayed consistent when adapted to other media. In nearly every adaptation of the story, major characters and plot points are completely rewritten, leaving only the most basic facets of the source material. One adaptation however, tells the story almost entirely as it exists in the novel. Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of: The War of the Worlds, a little known prog-rock album released in 1977, follows H.G. Wells' characters through the Martian invasion through song. The album employs a narrator, much like the novel, and includes the iconic scenes of the HMS Thunder Child and the disillusioned clergyman. The faithfulness of Jeff Wayne's adaptation and the theatricality of the album was a near-perfect start-ing point from which to create an adaptation of The War of the Worlds for the twenty-first century, as a live, staged, multi-media performance. In May 2011, with the help of many talented University of Utah students and alumni, I premiered Con-nor Rickman Presents: Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of: The War of the Worlds. By adapting Jeff Wayne's version for performance on the stage, the original H.G. Wells story became accessible in a new format. A staged version has created the most faithful dramatized version in existence while simultaneously promoting the music of Jeff Wayne. The performance was held in Studio 115 in the Performing Arts Building and played to a sold out house. The theatrical medium allowed the cast and crew to explore the emerging field of multimedia perfor-mance. From its inception, the project was meant to be an opportunity for inter-departmental collabo-ration. Students from every department in the College of Fine Arts were involved, including: Theatre, Dance, Film, Music and Visual Art, as well as students studying Physics, Business, Computer Science and several alumni. My thesis describes my original research on the story of The War of the Worlds, the multiple adapta-tions and their departures from the original, and assesses the rehearsal and performance process. Sydney Cheek-O'Donnell |
