'War of the Worlds' plans to invade Loeb Playhouse

By Jeff Cantwell
Staff Writer

A small sound stage is cluttered with chairs, microphones and sound effect equipment. One man runs from prop to prop like a madman, creating an invasion that will take over the nation.

In 1938, Orson Welles broadcast his radio version of "War of the Worlds." On Nov. 6, the SITI Company brings its version, based on the original script, to Loeb Playhouse.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets cost $14 for students, $18 for the general public.

"War of the Worlds Radio Play" is a theatrical presentation of the radio drama that first played as a Halloween thriller on Oct. 30, 1938. Because of its realistic-sounding broadcast, people who tuned in during the program thought that martians were invading the world. The play only had one disclaimer, which played at the beginning.

Stephen Webber, who plays Welles, said that the play is a double-layered experience.

"You get to hear the actual story of the martian invasion," said Webber. "But also, you get to see the actors that brought the story to life. It is more than just guys reading into microphones; as the martians land, the show starts to take over the actors."

Webber has been with the production since it began two years ago and understands the difficulties of portraying an actor like Welles, who he considers to be a dramatic genius.

"His personality was larger than life," said Webber. "Anyone who tries to become him will fail. I'm just trying to get inside the spirit of his creation."

Co-director Anne Bogart said in a press release that she wanted to change the modern perception of Welles.

"I want to portray Welles as not only a fun guy, but as an American artist, someone we need to stand up for," said Bogart. "So many people think of him as this caricature of a fat guy on talk shows and selling wine."

The radio play began as research for another "War of the Worlds," which was to be a biographical piece on Welles. The seven cast members worked freely with their directors to quickly create the presentation in 10 days.

"The radio play was going to be a one night event on Halloween," said Webber. "We have been performing the play for two years now. There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to it."

"War of the Worlds Radio Play" will play 14 sites on this tour and might be renewed with or without Webber in the lead role. But Webber is confident that another actor could tackle the role if he is careful in portraying the maniac Welles.

"He is a pretty crazy guy," said Webber. "He is definitely driving."

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