Local play remembers radio’s ‘War of the Worlds,’ a 1938 drama that incited alien panic
Eighty-five years ago, unsuspecting radio audiences were thrown into a panic by a realistic-sounding radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds.”
The radio drama directed by and starring Orson Welles, based on the book by H.G. Wells, gave Halloween eve audiences the impression that aliens were landing on earth and wreaking havoc.
Those days are recreated by the El Dorado-based Act 1 Players in a radio drama opening this weekend.
“War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast” is a radio play performed by a six-person cast, directed by Casey Eubank.
Microphones are set up on stage and most of the sound effects are produced live, Eubank said.
“The radio play is interesting because the actors aren’t doing as much memorization,” he said. “When they’re up at the microphones, their actions are a lot smaller than they would be in a regular play.”
The setting for the radio drama is the 10th anniversary of the original broadcast, including interviews with the people involved with the production. The six cast members play as many as 20 roles apiece, Eubank said.
“The actors don’t have to have their lines memorized because they’re reading from scripts, but they have to be familiar with the writing so they can perform it in a dramatic interpretation,” he said.
Playing multiple characters and doing the radio format is a challenge for the performers.
“You have to remember the different sounds for the different characters,” Rose Wilson said.
“We have our scripts with us, which throws the timing off, but we still have to put a lot of physical action into it for the audience,” Mike Shryrock added.
Jaydyn Drake is a veteran of voice work, and relished the chance to be in the show.
“While it’s hard for some others to do different voices, that was something I picked up on very easily,” he said.
Eubank said he intentionally chose a small cast for the show.
“I thought it would be nice to have the audience see the actors do a variety of different characters,” he said.
This is the second time Act 1 Players have done a radio play, after recently performing “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The playwright, Joe Landry, is the same for both, Eubank said.
Act 1 Players began decades ago in Augusta, Shryrock said, and several years ago moved to the Elks Lodge in El Dorado.
“They wanted to bring in live entertainment,” he said. “We got a great response.”
‘WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE PANIC BROADCAST’
When: Oct. 20-21, 27-28; show at 7 p.m., dinner at 6:15 p.m.
Where: El Dorado Elks Lodge, 121 E. Pine
Tickets: $25 for dinner and show, $15 for show only, at 316-321-9393 or 316-619-7314
