‘It Came from Outer Space’ opens this week at TheatreSquared

Performances of T2's adaptation run through Sept. 18

Photo: Lara Jo Hightower

A “zany, rollicking’ take on a 1950s classic is coming to Fayetteville this week in the form of a new play.

TheatreSquared this week will debut their adaptation of the 1953 3-D sci-fi film It Came From Outer Space beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 24, and running through Sept. 18.

From the description of the show:

When an astronomer claims to encounter a spaceship in the desert, everyone just laughs—until some townspeople start acting very strange. Are the aliens here to conquer the Earth? Or… do they come in peace?

The new show is the premier offering in T2’s upcoming 2022-23 season, and was created by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair. Blair and Kinosian may be familiar to T2 audiences, as they also collaborated on the T2 hit from their 2022/21 season, Murder for Two.

“Sometimes, the best, acclaimed creative minds align under the guidance of two top-notch producing theatres, and the end result is just ridiculously funny,” said T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford. “Audience members should be cautioned that it will be challenging not to repeatedly ugly laugh in public. But it’s also a play full of heart and meaning, with plenty of crafty theatre magic—Northwest Arkansas is going to love it.”

Th3e new show is a primarily a comedy, but does come packed with some of the themes of connection and acceptance leftover from the Ray Bradbury short story on which the film was based.

“One of the things I love about this play is the way it takes us back in time to another era—the 1950s—and explores parallels between that era and our own,” said T2 Associate Artistic Director Amy Herzberg. “It gently sends up the social mores of the time while reminding us that we still have room to grow when it comes to accepting what’s not familiar.”

The show is directed by Laura Braza (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), with associate direction by Herzberg. Actors in the new show include Gabriella Perez, Ann Delaney, Sharriese Y. Hamilton, Christopher Kale Jones, James Taylor Odom, and Andres Enriquez. The design team includes Scott Davis, Scenic Design; Mieka van der Ploeg, Costume Design; Heather Sparling, Lighting Design; Nicholas Pope, Sound Design; Rasean Davoné Johnson, Co-Projection and Video Design; Michael Salvatore Commendatore, Co-Projection Design; Tom Vendafreddo, Music Director; and Dell Howlett, Choreographer.

Tickets to the show range from $20-$54 (including fees). To purchase or for more information, including ticket pages including this and other TheatreSquared shows, visit theatre2.org.