War of the Worlds

Originally broadcast from New York City on the CBS Radio Network in 1938, War of the Worlds, based upon the novel by H. G. Wells, had many terrified listeners convinced that an actual alien invasion of Earth was taking place. Now, 78 years after the original broadcast, this radio classic comes to life again. This special staged version of the H.G. Wells/Orson Welles/Mercury Theater production, War of the Worlds, is one not to miss!

Billed as a staged dramatization of the 1898 novel by H.G. Wells, Orson Welles & Mercury Theater broadcast began normally. But for those who tuned in late, the “normal” programming appeared to be interrupted by the startling news that there were “explosions occurring on Planet Mars!” Reports followed stating that a “huge, flaming object” had fallen to earth on a farm near Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. More landings were soon reported, and an anxious radio audience came to the frightening conclusion that Earth was the target of a full-scale invasion by aliens!

Our DIrector – Darrell Hill – is bringing back to life this legendary radio broadcast with the help of a hand picked cast of voice and folley artists. Enjoy live live sound effects and all of the paraphenalia you would find in a 1938 radio sound stage.

In addition, Graveyard Mansion from The Witch’s Tale will be performed. The Witch’s Tale was a horror-fantasy anthology radio series that aired from 1931 to 1938. First broadcast in 1933, Graveyard Mansion tells the story of two brothers who have inherited a plantation in Louisiana, only to find that, standing upon that land, is a century-old, long-deserted mansion. No one dares go near it, for as they are told by various local folk, it is a haunted mansion, full of ghosts–a mansion where only the living dead remain. Laughing off the local warnings as mere superstition, they soon discover much more than they bargained for, and an evil far deadlier than mere ghosts!