HANNON THEATRE COMPANY CAST MEMBERS rehearse Ray Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451.’ The play will run from tonight to Nov. 19.

Hannon Theatre Company’s fall play, “Fahrenheit 451,” showcases Ray Bradbury’s theatrical rendition of Fahrenheit 451, adapted for the stage well over 25 years after its literary publication.

While the play is based off of the original novel, the storyline is different. In the story Fahrenheit 451 a dystopian future society is displayed, one in which firefighters are given the task of burning any book that is found. Some story elements have been changed for the stage, and the story now focuses on the relationship between Captain Beatty and Guy Montag.

Guy Montag is the protagonist of the story. Even though Montag is a firefighter himself, he begins to have a different outlook on books and tries to find out who he is by reading, even though this is illegal. Captain Beatty, the antagonist of the story and captain of the firehouse where Guy Montag works, is constantly contradicting himself as a cruel character who burns books and has a vast knowledge of them.         

The process used to find out which book will be used for the fall play is a complex one. Walter Wolfe, the Artistic Director of the Hannon Theatre program, said that there is a group of teachers, including English teacher Daniel Robles and music teacher Steven Speciale, who help to decide what the play will be.

Wolfe said, “The hardest part about my job is choosing the shows because I’ve been at this for 22 years at Loyola, and I’m running out of shows.”

The shows are compared to a group of criteria they must meet in order for it to be considered for the fall play: Does it have a large cast? Will it speak to the audience? Is it relevant to today? Will it be fun to work on? Will it provide enough work for the crew?         

All interested in seeing the fall play should visit the Hannon Theatre Company website to purchase tickets. The final performance is Nov. 19.