War of the Worlds
By H.G. Wells, adapted by Howard Koch

The Lost World
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by John de Lancie and Nat Segaloff

Starring actors from the Sci-Fi Channel, Star Trek, X-Files

Join L.A. Theatre Works, America’s premiere radio theatre company, for a special back-to-back double bill of chills, thrills and great literature as they present two masterpieces of science fiction and adventure: War of the Worlds and The Lost World.

Recreating the breathless pace and convincing details of Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast, L.A. Theatre Works makes it clear why H.G. Wells’War of the Worlds is truly the mother of all space invasions.  Originally performed by Welles’ Mercury Theatre of the Air, the 1938 live 60-minute broadcast of an “eyewitness report” of an invasion from Mars caused a nationwide panic.   The broadcast used an updated adaptation of the original 1898 book authored by one of Welles’ writers, Howard Koch, who changed the time and location from Victorian England to a small town on the East Coast of the United States in 1938 making the story more personal for listeners.  This fascinating piece still resonates today as concerns swirl around our environment, protecting our borders, etc.

Scorned by his colleagues after making the extraordinary claim that prehistoric animals exist and that he has seen them, Professor Challenger leads a harrowing four-person expedition through the remote jungles of South America to settle once and for all the validity of  his claim.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's campy adventure The Lost World follows this scientific expedition deep into the Amazon jungle -- and back in time. Cut off from the outside world on a primeval plateau, the fearless explorers discover a place where dinosaurs have evolved beside ape-men and the fate of the human race hangs in the balance.  From riding the rapids to dodging whizzing arrows, The Lost World will take you on a ride you won't soon forget!

Under the leadership of Producing Director, Susan Albert Loewenberg, L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) has been the foremost radio theater company in the United States for two decades. Broadcast in America on NPR and XM Satellite Radio, internationally on the BBC, CBC, Voice of America and many other English language networks, LATW has single-handedly brought the finest recorded dramatic literature into the homes of millions. The company records the majority of its productions annually in Los Angeles before an enthusiastic and loyal audience of season subscribers. Works by Eugene O’Neill, David Henry Hwang, Athol Fugard, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil Simon, David Mamet, Charlayne Woodard, Arthur Miller, and others have been performed and recorded by LATW with casts of the most critically acclaimed film and stage actors. On the road, LATW has delighted audiences with its unique live radio theater style performances in over 100 small towns and major cities, including New York, Boston, Washington and Chicago. An L.A. Theatre Works performance is immediate, spontaneous, and features a first-rate cast, live sound effects, and a connection to the audience rarely felt in a traditional theater setting. This theater… is an event.

Today, LATW’s Audio Theatre Collection includes more than 400 classic and contemporary titles–the largest library of its kind in the world.  Much lauded, the L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection is available in over 8,000 libraries and has received awards from the Audio Publishers Association, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Publisher’s Weekly, Writer's Guild of America, American Library Association, Grammy Awards and many others. Additionally, over 2,000 high schools nationwide use the recordings and study guides to teach language, literature, history and civics through LATW’s Alive & Aloud educational outreach program. LATW’s newest initiative, The Play’s the Thing for Higher Education, will make over 150 digitized works from our collection available to universities and colleges across the country for use in a variety of disciplines. For more information on these programs, LATW’s Audio Theatre Collection, national radio broadcast information and other exciting projects, visit www.latw.org.

The original 1994 L.A. Theatre Works audio release of War of the Worlds starred Leonard Nimoy, Wil Wheaton, Armin Shimerman, Gates McFaddan, Brent Spiner, and others.

The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial
Based on the original transcripts of the 1925 trial of John Scopes in Dayton, Tennessee

Starring a cast drawn from the ranks of L.A. Theatre Works Radio Theater, the characters at the center of one of the great debates of American society come to life in this magnificent semi-staged production from America’s foremost radio theater company. Scopes, a high school science teacher challenged the state law in Tennessee by teaching evolution instead of creationism. The trial quickly became a national battleground and drew the attention of fundamentalists and the ACLU.

Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, H.L. Mencken, John Scopes- these unlikely heroic figures of this 20^th century drama participated in a trial that set the stage for an ongoing national debate over the freedom of inquiry and the separation of Church and State. This was a national conflict of social and intellectual values played out in a small courthouse in rural Tennessee eighty years ago, yet these issues remain unresolved even today and the speeches and oratory from the trial still ring familiar.

For over two decades, L.A. Theatre Works has been the leading radio theater company in the United States. Broadcast in America on NPR and internationally on the BBC, CBC, and Voice of America, LATW has single-handedly brought live theater into the homes of millions. The company also performs a hugely successful series of live radio theater presentations each season in Los Angeles. Works by Eugene O’Neill, Athol Fugard, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil Simon, Arthur Miller, and others have been performed and recorded by LATW with casts of the most critically acclaimed film and stage actors. On the road, LATW has given live radio theater performances in Chicago, Washington, Boston, and New York. An L.A. Theatre Works performance is immediate, spontaneous, and features a first-rate cast, live sound effects, and a connection to the audience rarely felt in a traditional theater setting. This theater… is an event.

The Public Radio Connection: LATW will authorize the local public radio station to record the production of The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial for a one-time re-broadcast.  Or, LATW will provide local public radio a copy of their original recording for one-time broadcast with limitations. Access to the cast, director, etc. will also be granted. For additional information, please contact Baylin Artists Management. 

Education Programs: This production is ideal for high school level students and older as a daytime performance. Theater, directing, and auditioning master classes will be available during the residency with members of the cast.

Technical Requirements: Technical needs focus on sound reinforcement and equipment for the foley artist. Simple stage lighting is sufficient. The actors will use standing microphones for this production in the tradition of radio theater. The play takes place in a courtroom and the stage is set simply as such. Requirements include several long tables, a small platform with a dark desk and chair (for the judge) and a sufficient number of chairs for the actors. For complete technical requirements, please contact Baylin Artists Management.

The original 1994 L.A. Theatre Works audio release of The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial starred Ed Asner, Charles Durning, Tyne Daly, Joe Spano, Harold Gould, John Randolph, Harris Yulin, and others and was a co-production with the BBC in association with KCRW of Santa Monica, CA. Their 2006 re-recording of The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial starred Ed Asner, Mike Farrell, Sharon Gless, Harry Groener, Jerry Hardin, and others. These and many other audio plays are available through the L.A. Theatre Works Audio Collection.