TIME IS OUR FRIEND

A Victorian inventor travels thousands of years into the future, only to discover that humanity has evolved—and devolved—into two radically different species.

The 14/48 Hollywood Company’s production of The Time Machine gleams with ingenuity, its low-budget aesthetic burnished by a fiercely imaginative ensemble and a clear reverence for the source material. Directed by Benjamin McFadden, this stage adaptation of H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novella is not only faithful to the original, but also far more compelling—and emphatically more entertaining—than the bloated 2002 Warner Bros./DreamWorks film version.

That film had Guy Pearce’s plummy accent and $80 million in visual effects. This one has heart, puppets, and brains.

McFadden’s adaptation embraces the theatrical, using suggestion over spectacle. With minimal scenery on The Broadwater’s Second Stage, the team conjures vast dystopian futures and eerie underground civilizations through movement, sound, and handcrafted visuals. Ben Burris’s inventive puppetry fills in the blanks with charm and menace, while Deedee Anderson‘s costume design shows careful attention to detail, distinguishing time periods and otherworldly species with wit and economy.

The ensemble—Jessica Erin Martin, Brando Marino, Christie Coran, Lilly Chimenti, Matt Curtin, Mike Bowers, Monika Elmont, and Rhiannon Brady—takes on multiple roles with evident relish, seamlessly shifting between narration, characterization, and stagecraft. Their collective energy fuels the production, helping the audience travel with the Time Traveler into a future at once wondrous and bleak.

There’s a certain scrappy magic that only Fringe shows can achieve, and this Time Machine finds it in spades. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel—but it revs the engine with gusto. If you’re looking for a faithful, fast-paced take on a sci-fi classic that trades CGI for imagination, this one’s worth the ride.