On Oct. 30, 1938, the United States was in the midst of a Great Depression, Europe was on the brink of war and Mars invaded the Earth.
Well, not really.
CBS radio’s Mercury Theatre on the Air, led by Orson Welles, John Houseman and their New York acting troupe, were the actual invaders. The group’s 14th show, a Halloween performance, was an adaptation of H.G. Wells science fiction novel of the same name.
Today, the actors of the Alchemical Theatre of Wilmington bring the Martians to Wilmington.
In celebration of Halloween 2017, Port City Daily, 98.3 The Penguin and 93.7 and 106.3 The Dude present a new take to the now legendary radio play, but, not an update, since much of the script is based on the words of the 1938 scriptwriter Howard Koch (the same guy who wrote ‘Casablanca’ a few years later) and Director Orson Welles, with a nod to the other popular Wells’ novel.
With a story already more than 40 years old by the time it was adapted for radio, the 1938 show differed from Mercury Theatre’s 13 previous radio plays in one important way — its style. Not only did the drama start late, a few minutes after a popular program on NBC would have ended, but its story was delivered by and hidden among a new tool created by the new medium: breaking news alerts.
Listeners who tuned in late missed the brief introduction to Mercury Theatre, and instead thought they were listening to a selection of live dance music. Soon, the show was interrupted to report explosions on the surface of Mars. Not long after, a meteor strike in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, turned into the invasion that panicked America, both in radio and in real life (or, did it?).
Welles’ notoriety after the play aired catapulted him to Hollywood. The objective here is to offer you a little bit of Halloween fun. Enjoy!
The War of the Worlds was produced and engineered by Cory Mannion. It’s performers were Christopher Marino, Ed Wagenseller, Christie Grantham and Mike Holmes.
If you enjoyed this year’s Halloween podcast, check out last year’s:
Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Black Cat’ (Oct. 31, 2016)
The creature’s monologue from Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” (Oct. 30, 2016)
