Off the Square Players open season with radio play
The year is 1938. The cost of a gallon of gas is 10 cents. Franklin D. Roosevelt is president. The primary medium of entertainment is the radio, and it caused panic in the eastern United States after listeners mistook a fictional broadcast called “War of the Worlds” as an actual news report.
The Off the Square Players open their fall season with a presentation of the H.G. Wells thriller; “War of the Worlds, the Radio Broadcast” complete with newly recorded sound effects, retro props and a stellar cast.
“Chuck Dimick will once again produce a fun and maybe even an all too true scary experience for the audience at Ivan’s Backstage,” Director Mary Hubbard Nugent said.
Dan Hansen, in the role of Orson Welles who narrated the show’s prologue for an audience believed to be in the millions, will set the stage. “War of the Worlds” was the Halloween episode for the radio drama series “The Mercury Theatre on the Air.”
The versatile cast will take the Backstage at Ivan’s using multiple voices keeping, the audience engaged as they enter the world of the H.G. Wells imaginary Martians.
“We are excited to begin our season and celebrate both fall and Halloween with the epic presentation of this classic. I am happy to be able to direct the outstanding cast and to work with Greg klas who makes magic with his recordings of music made with local musicians, and of course, the sound effects,” Hubbard Nugent said.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday Oct. 13. The production will be at Backstage Ivan’s, 2093 Division St., East Troy. Tickets are available at East Troy House and www.brownpapertickets.com. For additional information, call 262-441-0280.
Additional performances are planned at the Sprague Theater, 15 W. Walworth St., Elkhorn. “War of the Worlds” will be 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27. This is a benefit for both theater groups. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Elkhorn Chamber Of Commerce, www.lakeland-players.org or by calling Linda at 262-728-5578 to reserve at the door.
