In 1971, Chicago's acclaimed
Organic Theatre Company produced a trio of plays inspired by Marvel Comics, particularly
Dr. Strange and
Mighty Thor, under the umbrella title
WARP!
Billing
the trilogy as "the world's first science fiction epic-adventure play
in serial form", the three plays did boffo box office and won numerous
Chicago theatrical awards.
It seemed like a no-brainer to take the
production to New York, where local talent could enhance both the
production values and on-stage talent.
The first of the three plays,
"My Battlefield! My Body!" opened in February, 1973.
Unfortunately, it closed that same month.
Considering the talent involved in this project, including original writer / director Stuart Gordon (
ReAnimator), NY production art director Neal Adams (
Batman /
X-Men /
Green Lantern & Green Arrow) and actors John Heard (
Sopranos,
Prison Break), Keith Szarabajka (
Equalizer), Stephen Williams (
X-Files,
21 Jump Street), it's astounding that it didn't take off like (dare I say) a rocket!
But, it didn't, and all that survives today are some playbills and the incredibly-hard to find poster, illustrated by Neal Adams!
We
have one of these posters, acquired in the late 1970s, and decided to
make a couple of shirts emblazoned with it for ourselves and friends.
The response has been so overwhelming ("Where did you get that? Can I get one?") that we are now
offering it to other pop culture aficinados!
If you're a fan of Broadway theatre, sci-fi, comics, or just like a kool shirt, have a
look!
Or, if you'd like a reproduction poster, click
HERE!
(Note: there
was a spinoff comic book series from
First Comics in the 1980s which adapted the trilogy and provided an ending to the story.)
