The War of the Worlds – Live!
Jeff Wayne's Musical Classic Transplanted to the Stage
In 1975 a young man decided to adapt HG Wells' classic invasion novel into a concept album. He recruited Richard Burton, Justin Hayward, David Essex; the rest is history.
Eve of the War
This is a review of the stage show of Jeff Wayne's classic album War of the Worlds, now on world tour.
When Jeff Wayne’s father handed him a copy of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, it had already been made into Orson Welles infamous radio show in 1938, and filmed by George Pal as a Cold War metaphor.
Wayne signed several famous names for the album: David Essex, Julie Covington, Philip Lynott of Thin Lizzy, and Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues. But his masterstroke was to persuade Richard Burton to narrate as The Reporter.
Forever Autumn
Twenty-five years after recording one of the seminal albums of the 1970s, Wayne decided to take a musical version onto the road. More than simply taking a band and an orchestra, Wayne decided to make it a truly multi-media event, with videos, CGI, and even a Martian.
Most of the original cast were --like Essex and Covington-- unavailable, or, as in Lynott and Burton, had died. But many of the musicians were rehired, joined by a larger. Crucially, Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann’s Earthband reprised his album role of The Voice of Humanity while Justin Hayward is again the Sung Thoughts of the Journalist, performing The Eve of the War, and the hit single "Forever Autumn".
The Spirit of Man
Joining the cast are John Payne from Asia as Parson Nathaniel, who duets with Sinead Quinn on "The Spirit of Man". Sadly, Payne is one of the drawbacks of the stage show, as he seems unable to moderate his voice.
Horsell Common and the Heat Ray
By contrast, Alexis James is excellent as the Artilleryman, particularly on "Brave New World", while "Horsell Common and the Heat-Ray" highlights the real show-stopper of the show; the re-animation of the CGI Richard Burton as journalist George Herbert. It’s eerie to see the image of a man dead a quarter of a century seeming to engage in dialogue with live actors, and is testament to the skill and attention to detail that the crew have put into the effects.
The show is not without its weaknesses; as well as Payne’s bellowing, there is an unnecessary and poor prologue, with sub-Arthur-Clarke-esque dialogue, and mediocre effects (it should be noted that the author’s wife actually enjoyed this part of the show). In addition, while many of the graphics are excellent, they are in colour, so when black-and-white footage appears on the central screen, it jars at first. While the disassociation passes, more irritating were the booms that obscured the upper part of the screen, which is an insult for eighty dollars a seat.
Thunderchild
However, Hayward gives a virtuoso performance, singing well within himself, and giving an object lesson to the younger cast in how to conserve a voice over four decades of performing, while Chris Thompson’s rendition of the magnificent "Thunderchild" brings a lump to the throat. Overall, the graphics on the huge screen offset one of the few weaknesses of the CD – that is that all the graphics are static – while the music and Burton’s voice are as fine as ever. And one of the highlights of the whole show was when the Martian war machine descended from the roof of the stage, drawing gasps and cheers from the audience.
Overall, while the stage show is not flawless, it is a genuine spectacle in a world where CGI has devalued genuine showmanship, and is a memorable event. Highly recommended.
