What’s a long-awaited threat, born of outer space and a danger to life as we know it?
Why, it’s “The Intergalactic Nemesis,” of course. Part old-time radio play and part multimedia graphic novel, this unique science fiction serial first descended on St. Louis in 2011. Now intrepid reporter Molly Sloan is back, fighting to save the world from secret assassins, sinister robots and a mysterious former fiancé.
On Friday, April 4, “The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book One: Target Earth” — the opening installment of a projected “Nemesis” trilogy — will return to Washington University in St. Louis as part of the Edison Ovations Series.
Then, on Saturday, April 5, the action will continue with the St. Louis debut of “The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book Two: Robot Planet Rising.” Both shows begin at 8 p.m.
The Intergalactic Nemesis
The brainchild of director Jason Neulander, “The Intergalactic Nemesis” began life in 1996 in a coffeehouse in Austin, Texas. In the years since, Neulander and his cast of five — three actors, one keyboardist and one foley artist — have toured the nation and abroad. They’ve debuted on Broadway and sold out the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“Book One: Target Earth” opens in 1933. Molly, accompanied by her trusty assistant Timmy Mendez, treks across the Carpathian Mountains, chasing a tip about international pelt smuggling. But when a new contact unveils a strange map — and promptly falls to an assassin’s blade — the pair, joined by enigmatic librarian Ben Wilcott, set out on a globe-trotting adventure that leads from rural Rumania to the Robot Planet and Imperial Zygon.
“Book Two: Robot Planet Rising” opens with the disappearance of robot emissary Elbee-Dee-Oh. Molly sets off for a deep-space rescue mission while Tim begins mastering his telekinetic powers. Yet complications ensue, in the form of Dr. Lawrence Webster, Molly’s former fiancé, who miraculously appears on Robonovia. Meanwhile, the sinister robot Alphatron and duplicitous Soviet spy Natasha Zorokov start closing in.
Critical praise
Conan O’Brien calls “The Intergalactic Nemesis” “fascinating,” while the New York Post lauds it as “Great fun!… [A] happily retro multimedia extravaganza!”
“Despite the recent rash of Marvel-funded feature films, movie theaters aren’t the only place where comic-book credits roll across the screen,” says the Austin-American Statesman. “’Nemesis’ harkens back to an earlier time in American entertainment while simultaneously venturing into a potential future of inter-planetary warfare.”
Tickets and sponsors
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“The Law of Superheroes” by James Daly and Ryan Davidson
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“The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book One: Target Earth” begins at 8 p.m. Friday, April 4.
“The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book Two: Robot Planet Rising,” begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 5.
Tickets are $36, or $32 seniors, $28 for WUSTL faculty and staff and $20 for students and children.
Tickets are available at the Edison Box Office, located in the Mallinckrodt Center, 6465 Forsyth Blvd.; and online, at edison.wustl.edu. For more information, call 314-935-6543 or email edison@wustl.edu.
Edison programs are made possible with support from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; the Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis; and private contributors.