Back to the Future: The Final Voyage of X Minus One

The Final Voyage of X Minus One is an affectionate tribute to the world of science fiction, featuring spaceships, aliens and lots of laser guns.

Director Rufus Qristopher Teixiera and his cast have a lot of fun bringing this future world to life. The show is made up of four stories, with some of the actors playing multiple roles. The opener is “Hallucination Orbit,” by J.T. McIntosh and adapted by Ernest Kinoy. Colin Orde (Derek Smith) is on a remote space station and meets several beautiful women. But are they real or just a figment of Orde’s imagination?

I really enjoyed George Lefferts’ “No Contact,” the homage to Star Trek, featuring Christopher Plonka as Captain Thorson, who does battle with a group of women from a hostile planet. Plonka captures the bravado of William Shatner’s legendary Captain Kirk and engages in some hand-to-hand combat with a gorgeous alien (Victoria Ezikovich).

Leffert’s “The Parade” features a very funny performance by Ted Clement as Syd Ryan, a publicist who is hired to promote a Martian invaders movie.

Tom Godwin’s “Cold Equations” is a drama set on a space shuttle. Lt. Commander Barton (Patrick Keefe) is transporting a serum to help a planet’s deathly ill inhabitants and encounters stowaway Marilyn Lee Cross (Meg Taylor-Roth). Taylor-Roth is quite effective as a woman who is desperate to reunite with her wife on the planet.

In addition to the terrific work of the actors, the show’s technical qualities also are first-rate. Clement and Teixiera’s sound effects play a crucial role in making these stories so convincing.

The Final Voyage Of X Minus One is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

The Final Voyage Of X Minus One. Counter-Productions Theatre Company. Thru November 20. AS220’s Blackbox Theatre, Providence. For more info, cptcri.com.