Summer Guide: ‘It Came from Outer Space’ musical, inspired by cult classic film, touches on timely topics 70 years later

Jaye Ladymore as Ellen Fields and Christopher Kale Jones as John Putnam in Chicago Shakespeare’s world premiere production of “It Came From Outer Space.” (Courtesy of Chicago Shakespeare Theater)

Before there was “Alien,” before there was “Star Trek,” before there was “Star Wars,” there was “It Came from Outer Space.” The 1953 sci-fi film may look cheesy by today’s standards but that, and its Ray Bradbury pedigree, has only added to its status as a cult classic.

Now Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, the musical theater team behind the hit show “Murder for Two,” have met the challenge of transforming the film, which was based on a Bradbury story, into a stage musical.