Raconteur Radio is set to present The War of the Worlds: A Staged Radio Play at the Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System.
The performance celebrates the 75th anniversary of Orson Welles’ radio play originally distributed Oct. 30, 1938.
The play, set in Grover Mills, is a loose adaptation of the classic H. G. Wells’ novel. It begins as a musical broadcast intermittently interrupted by news flashes about strange explosions on Mars and the landing of a cylindrical spacecraft on Earth. Incineration ensues.
The simulated “news bulletins” of the original broadcast suggested to many contemporaneous listeners that an actual alien invasion was currently in progress and, as a result, there were instances of panicked evacuation throughout the U.S., especially in New Jersey
The staged production features period costumes, theatrical lighting all sound effects; all mere miles from the site of the original “crash.”
War of the Worlds is designed for ages ten to adult.
Performers include Michael Jarmus, Carlyle Owens, Laurence Mintz, Jane Hardy and Alex Dawson.
The performance is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at the library, 138 Hickory Corner Road, East Windsor.
Additionally, the library is set to exhibit alien artifacts, sci-fi props and War of the Worlds memorabilia.
More information is online at mcl.org.
