It was on October 30, 1938 that Orson Welles adaptation of H. G. Wells’s novel The War of the Worlds was first broadcast on radio. The world was much simpler then. There were no cell phones. No streaming entertainment services. There weren’t 100’s of channels on TV. In fact there was no TV.
Radio was only way that people could have entertainment in their homes, unless they entertained themselves. And it was a fairly young medium since the first commercial radio station first broadcast was in January of 1920. The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the network that broadcast Welles’ anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, was formed just 9 years before in 1927.
It was a Sunday night and families gathered around the radio that often looked liked an expensive piece of furniture. Radio was the only way that the cities and more remote areas to get the same news, information and entertainment at the same time.
Today we watch a show, in many ways it’s a visual medium. In 1938 people would hear the actors voices and use their imagination to see the story. Now, Eighty-two years after the original broadcast Church Hill Theatre will perform the radio show, much in the same way. One will hear the actors telling the story and those listening using their imagination to “see” what’s happening.
Church Hill Theatre’s production of “War of the World” is directed by John Haas and has been adapted by Haas and Kathy Jones from the original script to incorporate Eastern Shore, Annapolis and DC references.
The virtual show will be performed LIVE for both performances. You’ve seen these performers, Melissa McGlynn, Bradley Chaires, Minnie Maloney, Matt Folker, Jeff Daly, Nic Carter, Shannon Whitaker, and Michelle Christopher, on the Church Hill Theatre stage. Now hear them on the zoom platform as they do a “radio broadcast”.
Shelagh Grasso is the producer and the important and influential sound effects will be under the control of Doug Kaufmann and Kat Melton. Kathy Jones is the production’s Stage Manager.
Tickets are $15, and can be purchased through the Church Hill Theatre website: www.ChurchHillTheatre.org. Bring the family together, gather around your zoom device, be sure to use your best speakers, and listen to Radio Theater just like your Grandparents or Great-Grandparents did.