On Friday, February 1, the savvy, witty graphic novels of the present day collide – onstage! – with the bombastic camp of 1930’s radio serials as the Victoria Theatre Association presents The Intergalactic Nemesis: Target Earth, a hilarious stage performance that brings the comics to life.
Set in 1933, Nemesis unspools the globe-trotting saga of an award-winning reporter, her research assistant, and a mysterious librarian as they travel around the world and, then, the universe on a quest to defeat the Zygonians – evil, alien sludge monsters that are out to destroy humankind.
Inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, and the pulp serials of the 1930’s, what began as an unexpectedly popular radio play in 1996 evolved into a graphic novel in 2009, then finally in 2010, a stage show that married the two. The graphic novel is projected onto a screen, one frame at at time (1,200 images!), with the speech balloons removed. Onstage, the approach is classic radio to a tee: three actors perform all the dialogue live, taking on dozens of characters and voices; a single foley artist armed with a host of bizarre items, provides all the sound effects; and a single pianist provides a melodramatic backdrop for the adventure.
Featured and praised on Conan and NPR’s All Things Considered (indeed, Dayton’s NPR affiliate, WYSO 91.3 FM, is sponsoring this performance), as well as in the Wall Street Journal and American Theatre Magazine, people are often not sure what to expect when confronted by The Intergalactic Nemesis, but two years of national touring, rave reviews, and the creation of a new sequel in response to popular demand…well, they all speak for themselves. Nemesis is a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that will bring out the kid in you. Older audience members will enjoy the warm, nostalgic throwback to a time when entertainment was simpler and more was left to the imagination. Younger attendees will love the boundless energy, the over-the-top energy comedy (including some truly hysterical death scenes), and recapturing that childhood thrill they felt the first time they saw Indiana Jones outrun a boulder, the Goonies discover The Inferno, or the Ghosbusters face Gozer as life, love, and the future hung in the balance.
“Sometimes it’s important to just have an escape,“ says creator Jason Neulander in an article from The Wall Street Journal. “Life can be hard, and I feel like right now, in the times we are in, it really can’t hurt to have an opportunity for a couple of hours — for people from 7 to 70 and older — to go in the theater and escape from their daily lives and go on a pure, unadulterated adventure.”
The Intergalactic Nemesis: Target Earth lands at the Victoria Theatre on Friday, February 1, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Center Stage Box Office, located in the Wintergarden of the Schuster Center; by phone (937) 228-3630; or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com. The official website is at TheIntergalacticNemesis.com.
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On Stage Dayton Ticket Contest
We have a pair of tickets to give away to see The Intergalactic Nemsesis: Target Earth on Friday Feb. 1st – simply fill out the form below and then leave a Facebook comment saying that YOU want to win tickets to see The Intergalactic Nemsesis from @On Stage Dayton on @Dayton Most Metro. We’ll announce winners on Wednesday Jan. 30th before noon – GOOD LUCK!
CONTEST CLOSED
Congratulations to our winner: Sunni Russo
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