Innovative and jaw-dropping effects make an out-of-this-world production

When Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair saw a re-release of the 1953 cult sci-fi classic “It Came from Outer Space'' in 2016, the country was in the midst of a vicious election year. Creeping xenophobia, homophobia, and racism had infiltrated the political discourse—even more than usual, it seemed. As the writing partners watched Ray Bradbury’s plot unfold before them on the big screen, they were struck by the parallels between the campy classic’s theme of fearing “the other” and what was going on in America’s political arena. That similarity, they say, was the first thing that sparked their interest in the daunting task of adapting the movie to a stage musical. But a close second was the challenge of translating the special effects to the stage. Dramatic, breathtaking, and startling at the time the movie was filmed—it was, after all, Universal’s first foray into the world of 3D filmmaking—today, the effects are cheesy, overblown, and hilarious. Perfect for a musical comedy, if you could figure out how to pull it off. 

“On the contrary, those technical elements are what sealed the deal in terms of making us excited about this adaptation!” said the duo in an email exchange when asked if they felt intimidated by the prospect of pulling off an onstage avalanche, a crashing flying saucer, and aliens who take the shape of ordinary earthlings. “We love working with seemingly impossible story elements, because it forces us to find creative, theatrical solutions. If it’s too simple or straightforward, you might as well just be watching the movie. But if—instead—you have one actor playing half the town while simultaneously operating a flying saucer on a fishing pole, suddenly it’s a unique, theatrical experience that really has to be witnessed live in a theater.”

The first step was determining which special effects were pertinent to moving the plot forward, as well as which effects would have the most crowd-pleasing results. 

“The shot of the spaceship streaming across the sky was something we were thrilled to put a distinctly theatrical spin on,” they note. “The audience really enjoys seeing how the strings are pulled, and we found that the more we leaned into that, the more fun it was for our live audiences. The scene where the townspeople descend into a crater is pulled off with some clever, video game-style projections on a sheet, and it’s always a joy to see that come to life. It’s not naturalistic at all, the way a film is, but that’s precisely what’s so fun about it.”

As projection co-designers, Michael Commendatore and Davonte Johnson are responsible for many of the elements that make the show seem otherworldly. The two have been colleagues and friends for a long time and were excited about the prospect of teaming up. 

“We work very well together and trade roles from design, programming, content creation, and assisting,” says Commendatore.

“Mike and I have worked together for years, and it was definitely great to get to co-design with him on this project—one that I think requires both of our strengths in design,” adds Johnson. “It is a silly, fun, entertaining, subversive, campy, existential good time, and I think it plays on the things we care about quite nicely.”

Commendatore says he came to the designing process completely fresh. 

“Typically, when I approach a design, I tend not to watch the source material so that I am able to freely design without the influence of the original movie,” he says. “Funny enough, when we started early meetings, I did not understand why there were stage directions for projections that say ‘Put on your 3D glasses now’. I was quickly informed by Davonte that the original movie was advertised as a 3D movie. Suddenly it all made sense—and boy, did we have fun making some of those 3D moments in the show.”

Johnson hadn’t seen this particular movie but was well-versed enough in such films from the 1950s and 1960 to know what to expect. 

“My mother was a huge sci-fi fan,” he says. “I have seen a great many science fiction movies from that time period and beyond. Though I knew it was a 3D film, I never saw it as often so it wasn't that special to me other than being a fairly standard movie of the time. When I heard about the stage adaptation, I revisited the film and learned of Ray Bradbury's involvement, and it got me excited in the subversive element of the unintentional camp. I think it was a great opportunity for a stage production.”

Commendatore says the novel plot and design requirements afforded he and Johnson the opportunity to learn new things, such as the scene where the cast descends deep into an abandoned mine. 

“The number, ‘Prepare Yourselves’  was the first time I had to make projections that showed a journey that actors moved in front of, that was not the stereotypical car driving sequence—which we also use later in the play,” he says. “There was a lot of talk with the director and choreographer about what was happening here and then spending a healthy amount of tech time to figure out how it all works together. In the end, I thought we did a decent job telling the story and making it fun for the audience.”

Both Johnson and Commendatore say this kind of collaboration is an integral part of their job.

“As projection designers, our content is very dependent on the scenery and what we are projecting onto,” says Commendatore. “We had a lot of early discussions and inputs with the set designer to make sure we can accomplish our ideas. We also had a lot of talks with the other disciplines to make sure we are all telling the same story together. 

“Unless you work with the same people every show, each collaboration is different. I am a huge advocate of collaboration, so you’ll always see me running to the lighting designer and checking in or talking to sound about a particular moment where we need to be in sync. I feel this production was a perfect amount of collaboration.”

For every member of a production—from director to actor to designer to production crew—the moment of truth is when the audience files in to see a show for the first time. Commendatore says that that first audience was an affirmation that the projection work for “It Came From Outer Space” was doing its job. 

“The audiences gasped at the first moment of the show, which is only our projection design, and I just about melted in my seat,” he says. “We had to watch the show a lot of times in previews, and it never got old. Sometimes seeing the show over and over again feels like work—but not with this show. For me, if the audience liked it, that’s all that counts. When designing, I have a little audience voice in my head that is constantly questioning why I made the choice I did. It helps make sure that I am making something that is good for the audience and not just myself.”

Critics agreed with the awed audiences.

“There are no 3-D glasses, but the opening scene (among others) offers planetarium-grade astral effects that’ll have you ooh-ing, aah-ing and perhaps even ducking as stars and flying saucers blast off from the stage. That’s thanks to star turns by lighting designer Heather Sparling and video/projection designers Rasean Davonte Johnson and Michael Salvatore Commendatore,” read the Chicago Sun-Times review.

For Kinosian and Blair, their first time watching with an audience was equally rewarding. 

“Even if you’ve never seen this specific movie, everybody knows the tropes of the genre—flying saucers streaming through a vast desert, townspeople starting to act a little funny,” they say. “There’s a heightened style involved that’s really fun to see come alive on a stage. Also, who doesn’t love to watch alien tentacles squirming around in shadow behind a white sheet, of which we have plenty? But honestly, the biggest reactions—the ‘oohs,’ and ‘aahs,’ and big cheers—came out of the story of John and Ellen, two ordinary humans, learning to truly connect. As writers, of course, it made us extremely happy that that core story was speaking to people.”