DaVinci, Tesla, Edison, Gates: geniuses all, whose brilliance changed the course of human events. Their talents more than match Merriam Webster's description of "exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability." Imagine if they had worked in a theater, our theater. Imagine the special effects, the props, the set designs! But wait! We have a few geniuses of our own at 51 Walden and while they might not be planning to alter the course of human events, four of them have definitely applied their "exceptional creative power" to getting the Players production of the The Desk Set curtain-ready for its February 13th opening night.

Allen Bantly, engineer, designer, inventor, and occasional curmudgeon has created a set that will transport audiences back to the late 1950s so convincingly they'll be expecting to see Jack Paar on their televisions when they get home. Allen has built an old-school computer with lights and gadgets. Its capacities are incalculable. Get it? His two story office suite boasts, among other things, beautifully crafted wooden desks that he designed and built with the help of Larry Blundell, and authentic looking glass office doors that close with the quiet whoosh we all remember. It's a set that becomes a charming character in this story about a team of researchers who worry for their jobs when modern technology threatens to outpace them.

Bantly's latest marvel will dazzle but not surprise us, given some of his previous triumphs: a working airplane, a ship that materialized through the stage floor; a guillotine that didn't kill anybody, and a replica of Tutankhamen's sarcophagus engineered better than the original.

Concord Players' sets are always among the best appointed, and this one is no different. Allen's wife Anne and her partner Charlotte Kelley, two inveterate set dressers, have suited up the space with over 1,000 books appropriated from local libraries and private residents. Yes, you did see three zeroes, that's 1,000 books. The offices are furnished with real and fabricated period-perfect accoutrements--but you won't be able to tell the difference! These two are pros..

And speaking of genius, pay close attention to the dictaphone provided by Brian Harris. His genius has been responsible for gilded spackle mouldings, realistic macaroni topiaries and reproductions of masterpieces that could fool the curators at the MFA. We won't reveal the secret about how he created this very special prop, but it's so convincing, you'll want to make your own recording. Just like in the old days, before smart phones could anticipate our thoughts and relay them across the globe in living color ... Oh wait, maybe those characters in The Desk Set do have cause for alarm!

The Desk Set opens Friday, February 13, 2015 and runs until through the 28th. Written by William Marchant, directed by Michael McGarty and Paula McNabb, produced by Pam Holleman and Tom Sikina.

--Linda McConchie