By RAY KELLY
Wells and Welles, which earned accolades during its premiere run at City Lit Theater in Chicago last year, is set to be published this spring and licensed for future stage productions in the United States and United Kingdom.
Written by Ohio-born playwright Amy Crider, Wells and Welles will be published by Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW). Her play is based on a chance meeting of The War of the Worlds author H.G. Wells and radio star Orson Welles in 1940.
“It’s a thrill that a major publisher like TRW would accept Wells and Welles for publication and licensing. The critical success of my play was also was enhanced by the kind attention of Wellesnet, and I know some tickets were sold because of your shout-out,” Crider said.
She added, “TRW licenses plays both in the US and in the UK, so aside from American fans of Orson, fans of H.G. in the UK may also get the chance to see it. This is definitely the high point of my playwriting career so far.”
Crider studied theater at Goddard College, Second City, and Chicago Dramatists. Her plays have won the Tennessee Williams One Act Play Contest, New Plays from the Heartland, and Word Wave. She has also had two novels published by the University of New Orleans Press.
In Wells and Welles, Crider speculates on what common values might have been shared between the 74-year-old British novelist and America’s “Boy Genius” during their first and only meeting on October 28, 1940. The two men happened to be in San Antonio, Texas, at the same time for separate lectures and agreed to chat with Charles C. Shaw on KTSA-AM radio.
Wells published The War of the Worlds to much acclaim in 1897 and Welles famously adapted the sci-fi tale for radio in 1938.
In its review of Crider’s play, Around Town Chicago hailed it “a cleverly constructed and well-written show that is not only a credit to Crider’s insightful vision but also a noteworthy personal achievement. In addition to creating the script, the playwright funded the full run herself with her retirement savings and created her own theatre company, hired her own actors and crew, and rented out City Lit’s space while the troupe was on summer hiatus.”
Chicago Theater and Arts declared after Wells and Welles‘ opening that it had “worldwide appeal and should be readily snapped up by other smaller theaters around the globe and acting pairs looking to showcase their abilities.”
Crider has shared a video recording of a Chicago performance of Wells and Welles on YouTube.
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