Intergalactic hostilities commence tonight at the South Florida Museum with a one-night-only production of the classic War of the Worlds in the Bishop Planetarium. Recreating the radio production that shot Orson Welles to fame is Dylan Jones and his new company Little Grey Hat Productions, named for Jones’ trademark cranial accessory, and they’re promising their own spin on the old favorite.

Formed earlier this year, Little Grey Hat is Jones’ attempt to create something new in the regional theater scene. “Mobile Theater” he calls it, because Little Grey Hat has no home, venturing from stage to stage with its shows. “Niche Theater” he calls it, aiming to fill in the gaps left in a field dominated by musical and classic theater. Instead of competing with the Asolo or Manatee Players, Jones is looking for that thing–that form, style or story-yet to be represented.

“When you’re in an area like this, you have to start wondering how you stand out. What are these places doing and what aren’t they doing?” said Jones. “I started Little Grey Hat because I wasn’t seeing a lot of the shows I wanted to see.”

What distinguishes this production from previous productions of War of the Worlds is that although the entirety of the original broadcast will be performed, it will be interspersed with a meta-narrative, written by Jones, following events inside the studio as the actors realize the impact of their performance.

And taking full advantage of the planetarium’s resources, Little Grey Hat’s production incorporates not only radio and stage theater, but also animation and projection, as outside events and thematic touches play across the planetarium screen. The planetarium’s new state-of-the-art Bose sound system will also be put to work as events unfold to a “mind-bending” finale.

A participatory show, the audience gets to join in the fun, yelling, cheering and screaming with the actors. 

“This is the most interesting show I’ve ever done because it mixes so many types of media,” said actor Matthew Quick, a graduate of Manatee School for the Arts and Florida School of the Arts and one of six actors in the show. “When I heard about it, I thought ‘I definitely want to be part of this.’”

As for Jones, he’s excited for the show but also for the prospect of performing in a planetarium, with all the challenges and boons that provides.

“The fact that you can do theater in here is something that not many people have realized,” said Jones. “This was very much an experiment to see what I could do with the space and how far I could go.”

War of the Worlds shows tonight at 7:30pm in the Bishop Planetarium. Tickets are $20 while seats last.

The night also marks the opening of the new traveling exhibit from The Smithsonian Institution, The Evolving Universe, from 5:30-7pm. Showcasing the wonders of our universe, the exhibit explores the farthest and most beautiful corners of space through photographs from multiple space telescopes, including the Hubble. The exhibit will be on display in the South Florida Museum until Jan. 4.