Variety: "The aliens are COMING! THE aliens are coming!
For the past few years, the U.K., Europe, Australia and New Zealand have been visited by an arena tour of a musical version of 'The War of the Worlds,' toplined by an 11-foot tall hologram of Richard Burton."
6 comments:
his is really cool. Using technology to recreate and and add to the War of The Worlds is really interesting. Something that has so many different interpretations and now it is onstage and planning to make a USA tour. I wonder if it will do well, but I assume that if it did well in New Zealand and other parts of the world it should be successful if not more successful then other parts. I think American audiences will be drawn to this because of the material but also because it's use of holograms and other technologies aiding the story. It makes the story an experience you participate in rather then simply a presentation of information.
The use of technology in theater and music performances is growing more and more common all the time. I am yet again impressed with how technology has been integrated into the performing arts, and almost feel threatened by how much it seems to be "taking over". At what point will live performers be unnecessary for a good show? Will designers and technician be useless in their fields?
As Bryce said, it will do well in the US if it did well in New Zealand. Audiences now are bored of the typical shows, they want new, interesting ways of presenting material. This mixed media performance will fulfill that I'm sure.
at first i thought this sounded incredibly dumb. I hate war of the Worlds. However, after reading the articles I thought A) Richard Burton is awesome, and B) how the hell are they doing that on stage, that's awesome! I love to see the new technology coming to theatre. Motion capture and video doesn't just have to exist in film, I love seeing it crossover. Sometimes I wish I actually was compatible with technology cause this looks really cool.
Im sure this would be an epic thing to experience. I like the artists involved, and the idea that that this kind of technology could bring something to a live audience. My only thing is that I really like War of the World as it was created originally. So far, every attempt to re-create it has seemed...pretty bad. I understand the draw this show presents, and it already prepares a fan base for adaptations....but I love the original just the way it is.
While I am not quite sure what the legal or moral rules and ideas surrounding the usage of a deceased person's likeness on stage in super sized hologram form, the fact that holograms are being used for this just makes the idea incredibly cool from a technology standpoint. What I worry about in the bring of this to the US is that the motion picture that was released a little while back starting Tom Cruise was not a general public draw. The book War of the Worlds, and then the radio broadcast of War of Worlds seems to have had a much more successful over seas existence then one inside the states. I hope it does well, but I do wonder if there is enough of a fan community for it to enjoy the same level of success it has come to know.
I think this is another fascinating piece of theatrical work that is attempting to successfully fuse the arts and technology in a way that will amaze the audience. While something like the recent movie Avatar is visually stunning, using this kind of technology in a live setting can be just as amazing, and it pushes the bounds of how we have used technology in the performing arts in the past. I hope this show continues to be successful and inspire other productions to explore the growing role of technology in theatre.
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