A beloved holiday ritual has returned to Southern California! For me, the X-Mas season means primarily one thing and one thing only: It's time for Brian Newell's SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS to take its rightful place on the boards of the Maverick Theater in Fullerton! This play is based on the not-quite-classic 1964 UFOlogical science fiction film directed by Nicholas Webster.
*SEE* Torg the Technical Wonder stride across the stage!
*GASP IN AMAZEMENT* as realistic flying saucers whiz directly overhead!
*MARVEL* at the unbelievably exotic sounds of the Martian "Pshhhhhh" Door!
If you're persistent enough, you might even persuade Torg the Mechanical Wonder to pose for a photograph with you (see below).
In 2016, the Los Angeles Times wrote, "A Fullerton holiday tradition began as an incredibly bad movie. Not
even that so-bad-it’s-good kind of thing. Just plain bad. Maybe it’s
the spirit of Christmas, but decades later, one little community theater
has embraced the awfulness of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and turned a lump of coal into a present that just keeps giving.
"'I
don’t know how this became a success,' said [Brian] Newell. 'I had to
beg actors to do it. They thought it was a suicide show.'"
And if you want to see this "suicide show" for yourself, you have until Tuesday, December 23rd. Tickets can be ordered right HERE. If all the performances are sold out, which is most likely by this point, I suggest requesting to be placed on the wait list. In
the meantime, check out Nicholas Webster's original film (featuring
Fritz Hansen's *Astounding* Martian Furniture) directly below...
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians 1964:
And you can see the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 version of the film right here...
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