On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater On the Air captivated the nation and set off widespread panic with a dramatization of H.G. Wells’s late-19th century fantasy. Thousands of listeners across the country mistook the broadcast for news reports of an actual Martian invasion that detailed meteor landings in nearby Grovers Mill in West Windsor and aliens killing earthlings with death-rays. More than a few residents fled their homes or joined to combat the “Martians.”##M:[more]##
On Saturday, October 29, the “War of the Worlds” broadcast, written by Howard Koch and made famous by Welles, will be re-enacted at the Sarnoff Corporation. Benefit tickets include the evening performance, a tour of the Sarnoff library, and a dessert reception. Live music will be provided by renowned thereminist, Kip Rosser, above.
The broadcast is “arguably one of the best radio dramas of all time,” says William Spear, founder and president of the Hunterdon Radio Theater, which will stage the re-enactment with more than 20 actors. The group is “excited about the opportunity to work with the David Sarnoff Library and present its version of the broadcast.” The sound effects and actors’ voices will be transmitted through 1930s microphones to 1930s radios, provided by members of the New Jersey Antique Radio Club. An interactive discussion, led by Alex Magoun of the Sarnoff Library, will follow the program.
Sarnoff Auditorium, 201 Washington Road, 609-688-0773. Live re-enactment of Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds.” A family-friendly event to benefit the Sarnoff library’s renovation in cooperation with the Hunterdon Radio Theater and NJ Antique Radio Club. Matinee, $15; evening, $25. Benefit, $50. Discounts for advance tickets, children, seniors. Saturday, October 29, 2 and 7:30 p.m.
