AN ELECTRIFYING TESLA
Much has been written about Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, the inventor of alternating current, radio and so much more, ever since his name became one of the world’s most known electric automobile brand names in 2003. Robbed of the scientific accolades he deserved by others more in tune with how to make money through American capitalism by using his brilliant electrical inventions for their own gain, Tesla ended his life in obscurity thanks to money-men Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, J.P. Morgan, and many others for using his inventions and never giving Tesla the credit or accolades he deserved.
Dan Lauria, Gregory Harrison, Vanessa Claire Stewart,
French Stewart, Charles Shaughnessy, Hal Linden
But Tesla is now finally being recognized as the inspiration for things such as wireless power and the possibility of world-wide wireless communication that could fit in one’s pocket, something we take for granted today. But how did Tesla come up with such inventions at the beginning of the twentieth century when no such technology was a possibility?
French Stewart demonstrating a Tesla coil
Thanks to extraordinarily detailed, rapid-fire writing by Dan Duling (Pageant of the Masters playwright), forceful direction by Michael Arabian, powerful acting, and extraordinary sound effects by Foley artiest Tony Palermo, the world premiere of Tesla: A Radio Play for the Stage offers insight into one of the most brilliant minds in the scientific community and how the money men behind the inventor really assisted in guiding us into the world of wireless technology we take for granted today. It played last weekend at Cal Tech, but continues Oct.10-13, 2024, at the gorgeous John D. Spivey Theater at the Big Bear Lake Performing Arts Center.
Dan Lauria, Gregory Harrison, Charles Shaughnessy, French Stewart, Vanessa Claire Stewart
This top-notch production on all levels could easily have been enjoyed with your eyes closed thanks to the amazing character-driven talents of the cast: French Stewart gives a tour-de-force performance as Tesla); Vanessa Claire Stewart is the forward-thinking daughter of J.P. Morgan who loved and lost Tesla due to his obsessive devotion to his work; Hal Linden, spry and sharp at 93, inhabits the characters of Samuel Clemens (pen name Mark Twain), Thomas Edison,; Gregory Harrison, suave as ever, as George Westinghouse; and Dan Lauria (the dad from The Wonder Years) as Stanford White and Charles Shaughnessy (from The Nanny) as Maxwell Crane. All the actors, except French Stewart, play multiple roles. As each scene flowed into the next, these six remarkable performers made each of the characters come to life in an extraordinary manner, so much so that you feel like a fly on the wall watching the historical events and meetings unfold in real time.
Foley artist Tony Palermo
In a nutshell, the radio play begins with two men sorting through the remaining documents left behind by Tesla after his death. And since the charismatic savant’s uber-focused mind resulted in copious notes and drawings of his inventions being created, Tesla’s life story unfolds , per Duling, “to convey the scope, scale, and human drama of Tesla’s improbable career and life, telling a story of triumph, tragedy, and the value of scientific innovation based on Tesla’s own words from his personal writings and interviews.” I guarantee watching or just listening to Tesla: A Radio Play for the Stage will grab your attention and draw you into all the many details for the near-three-hour presentation with one intermission.
French Stewart, Charles Shaughnessy, Hal Linden
Beginning with Tesla’s arrival in America to work as an apprentice for Thomas Edison, who was busy inventing commercial appliances for the 20th century, Tesla burst on the scene and could have been the richest man in the world if he had his own funds to build what his mind designed. His volatile relationship with Edison, his allegiance with George Westinghouse, and his confrontations with the power brokers of American business provide the framework for this fascinating, compelling, and wildly entertaining production.
French Stewart, Vanessa Claire Stewart, Gregory Harrison, Hal Linden
It may surprise you that Tesla believed in the power of women, trusting their opinions at a time when most men fought to keep women out of the workplace. Tesla also claimed to have been contacted by space aliens through a wireless power tower he designed and built in Colorado, and promised to harness the power of Niagara Falls to wirelessly produce enough electricity to power an entire city. He also talked about the need to stop wasting the Earth’s natural resources long before anyone else ever agreed with or saw the need for such a belief. And in 1893, Tesla confessed he could communicate via telepathy with his mother, a talent he called “a gift or a curse” even when it certainly helped win at poker with the financial juggernauts who preferred to steal Tesla’s ideas to make money all for themselves.
French Stewart
Tesla’s patents for wireless energy never brought him the fame he deserved, but Marconi used them to become honored as the creator of radio. And in 1895 when Tesla’s lab caught fire after an explosion, it was never determined if the cause was due to his experiments or a bomb thrown in by others who wished to silence him. And with that question never answered, it led to Tesla finally setting out to Colorado to prove he could generate and send out free wireless energy to the masses. But without funds to continue, nothing ever came to fruition.
Videos and photos to enhance the stories are flashed on the wall behind the actors throughout (projection design by Brian Gale; associate David J. Medina) — the most horrific being a film showing the electrocution of an elephant thanks to Edison’s need for theatrics to prove the power of electricity to light up the world. And Edison did not have much luck with the first electric chair either, choosing not to follow Tesla’s designs to safely generate the power needed instead of just creating a lethal weapon.
photos by Bob Paz (for Caltech)
Tesla: A Radio Play for the Stage
part of the Getty-led PST ART: Art & Science Collide Festival
reviewed at Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium, where it played October 4-6, 2024
plays next in Big Bear October 10-13, 2024
presented by The Big Bear Theatre Project
The Big Bear Lake Performing Arts Center’s John D. Spivey Theater
39707 Big Bear Blvd. in Big Bear Lake
for tickets, visit Tesla / Big Bear Theatre Project