Seventy-nine years from the day Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds” aired on CBS (then Columbia Broadcast Systems), a Columbus audience will have the chance to sit through a Reader’s Theater production of the same play.
Columbus Arts Council will hold the play at the Rosenzweig Arts Center at 7 p.m. Saturday and Monday — Monday being the day before Halloween and the anniversary of the original broadcast, which told listeners about a Martian invasion of New Jersey. Nine area performers, dressed in 1930s-era costumes, will read the harrowing script as if they’re in Welles’ Mercury Theater in 1938.
“Remember, you’re actors,” director Linda Bobbitt told the performers at a dress rehearsal Tuesday. “Radio personalities. Some of you will go on to be stars.”
The broadcast was adapted from H.G. Wells’ novel of the same name about Martians invading Britain in the late 19th century. Newspapers at the time of the original broadcast reported the play induced mass panic among listeners who thought it was a live news broadcast, though some historians today say the broadcast didn’t fool many people.
“What we’re doing is the actual script from the 1938 broadcast,” CAC Program Manager Beverly Norris said. “There are no changes in it as far as script is concerned.”
It was Norris who wanted to perform “The War of the Worlds.”
And while alien invasions are not Bobbitt’s preferred stories — she likes mysteries — she thought it was appropriate for Halloween.
“It was meant to be scary,” she said. “It’s H.G. Wells.”
It’s not Bobbitt’s first time directing Reader’s Theater productions, or productions where actors read from scripts rather than memorizing lines and acting out scenes as in traditional theater. She invites audiences to “close their eyes and listen” and let sound tell the story instead of the visuals.
“It’s like a feast for your ears and your mind,” she said.
She’s particularly pleased with sound effects provided by foley artist Angie Basson, who brings to life the sounds of Martian ray guns, bombs, church bells, whistles and the sound of an alien spaceship door opening with an assortment of instruments and knick-knacks on the stage.
Basson credits her fellow actors with some of the noises.
“Everybody comes in and helps with the hums and the hisses,” she said. “… It’s a team effort.”
For Mike Troublefield, who performs the voices of a reporter, a general and a gunner in the production, the lines are part of the magic. As a reporter, his character Carl Phillips is present when the Martians leave their capsule, and he narrates the moment to listeners.
“It talks about the ship and the tube, and it’s hollow and it’s opening up,” he said. “You see these triangular eyes and slimy mouth and everything like that. I really like that part. I can see it as I’m saying the words. ”
Tickets for the production are $10 advance and $12 at the door.
“We would love for people to come,” Bobbitt said. “It’s a little bit different experience, but we think they can have a good time.
“Like I said, ” she added. “Close your eyes and listen.”
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