12/16/2025
We are so excited to share the cast list for our next stage production, "The War of the Worlds: The 1938 Radio Broadcast", directed by Sara Harrington and Erica Moser.
The Mercury Theater Live On Air’s Halloween show is coming up, and Orson Welles won’t settle for a typical adaptation of a classic literature. He joins his producer John Houseman and assistant producer Paul Stewart to select a work to adapt. But this won't be any ordinary radio show. Welles intends for this show to be a realistic, action-packed adventure that will make listeners feel as though they are witnessing events in real time, as they occur. Reporters! Bulletins! Excitement! What could go wrong?
Cue the meltdown of Howard Koch and his secretary/writing assistant Anne Froelick as they try to adapt H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds into something credible and interesting, despite their growing fears that it is a nearly impossible feat.
Between Welles’ demands that the show be ever more realistic with each rewrite, and NBC executive Davison Taylor’s insisting that too much realism could make the show actionable, Koch, Froelick, Houseman, and Steward have their work cut out for them.
All of their efforts will lead to the big day, where a cast of radio actors, foley artists, musicians, and Orson Welles, himself, bring the story to life over the airways, unsettling a generation of radio listeners and creating an event that will leave its mark in history forever.
Tickets are available now!
🎟️ https://www.tickettailor.com/events/cnyplayhouse
