The Invisible Man — Jim Maher

The Invisible Man, A Musical, by Jim Maher is based on the H.G. Wells science-fiction novel. It’s October 1973 in Berkeley, CA. Jack Griffin, a scientist, conducts an experiment on himself and becomes invisible. Several days later he realizes that being invisible has more disadvantages than advantages, so he moves to Jamestown, CA to invent a cure. He comes across a British Bar and Inn where he decides to setup his laboratory and begin his experiments. Unfortunately, the townspeople notice his strange behavior and begin to question the man behind the mask. Jack decides to reveal his identity which frightens them. He then uses his invisibility for horrible purposes, including murder, creating chaos and terror in the community.

Evolution

Several years ago, my daughter gave me a book by H.G. Wells that included four of his classic novels. She knew I was very interested in reading “War of The Worlds” and thought I would enjoy the book. However, after reading about half of the 1898 version, I became disinterested and discontinued reading it.

About a year later, I was searching for a story that I could adapt into a musical and for some reason I started reading “The Invisible Man” and loved it. The story’s creativity was perfect for writing songs, and I could visualize each chapter into a stage setting. The first song I wrote was “The Invisible Man” and the second was “He’s not an Ordinary Man”. They both came so easily that I knew I was on to another musical.

I tried to keep my musical as close to the original story as possible, but two aspects of the plot concerned me when trying to adapt it to the stage. The first was the story needed a strong female character to interact with Jack. So, I created Mary, a former lover of Jack’s, and now a friend and accomplice. She replaces Marvel in the original story and provides a romantic element to the show. The second was the lengthy discussion about invisibility between Robert and Jack. The conversation was so vivid and interesting that it needed to be acted out so the audience could witness Jack’s transition and struggles. So, I moved most of their discussion to the beginning of the musical and added in all the characters.

Another change that I made was moving the location from England to California. This way I was able to write lyrics without worrying about using the correct Victorian vocabulary.

Videos from “The Invisible Man” performance on June 25, 2022.

Here are some videos from “The Invisible Man” reading September 5, 2021, at the Martinez Campbell Theater.