Theatre Version of War of the Worlds in Blowing Rock October 30

Story by Anna Oakes

MTN personality Bill Fisher (left) and J.B. Lawrence rehearse parts for the Ensemble Stage Company’s upcoming performance of War of the Worlds.

The Ensemble Stage Company invites you to relive the famous radio play that stirred a panic in listeners all over the country when it aired on the eve of Halloween, 1938—the Orson Welles-narrated War of the Worlds.

The company will present a version of the play for live theatre on Friday, October 30, at 8:00 p.m. at the Blowing Rock School Auditorium on Sunset Drive. The play will last about 60 minutes with no intermission. Everything about the performance—from the tickets to the ushers to the concession stand—will reflect the 1930s period in which the play originally aired.

The 1938 Mercury Theatre radio production was an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds, about a Martian invasion of Earth. Welles’ radio adaptation was written and performed to sound like a modern news broadcast with on-the-scene coverage. It is believed that many people tuned in late to the program, which caused them to miss Welles’ introductory statement about the piece and mistake the production for an actual newscast.

Ensemble Stage co-founder and War of the Worlds Director Gary Lee Smith has adapted the play for the High Country. The epicenter of the alien invasion takes place in Blowing Rock and includes Banner Elk, Lenoir, Asheville, Charlotte and other locations in the state.

“The script has gone through several revisions,” Smith said in a press release. “Not only did we want the new locations to be geographically accurate, but there was also a certain syllabic rhythm in the original script I didn’t want to lose.”

Discussions about forming the Ensemble Stage Company began in August—the same month the Hayes Center in Blowing Rock announced it would temporarily suspend operations due to financial difficulties. The decision left uncertain the future of the 23-year-old Blowing Rock Stage Company—the theatre-in-residence at the Hayes Center.

But the members of the fledgling Ensemble Stage Company are no novices. Its founding members have more than 70 years of experience and nearly 600 professional theatre productions under their belts. The new company currently has seven advisory committee members.

Starring in the first Ensemble Stage Company production will be a host of local celebrities, including Blowing Rock Mayor J.B. Lawrence; Jimmy Crippen, owner of Crippen’s Country Inn and Restaurant; Jerry Burns, retired editor of The Blowing Rocket; Kent Graham, Blowing Rock emergency management director; and David Rogers, owner of Watauga Equity Management and Rotarian. Derek Gagnier, ASU theatre professor and professional actor, will play the part of Welles.

“Everyone we asked was so excited and supportive of the idea, they immediately jumped on board to be a part of it,” said Robert Miller, Jr., Ensemble Stage member, in a press release.

Although the production is an adaptation of a radio play, it will include visual elements.

“Even though this is a 1938 radio play re-creation, we are taking some dramatic license,” Smith said. “It would get a bit boring for the audience if they just watched a true-to-life radio drama production. 

“With our production, the actors will also be responsible for generating the sound effects onstage, and they will be encouraged to…have fun with each other and the audience,” Smith added.

The company will use vintage-style foley—or sound effects—props.

“Back in the early days of radio, before recorded effects, production teams were very creative in taking everyday items and using them in unconventional ways to create a particular sound,” Smith explained. “With our production, we’re doing exactly the same thing. For example, an old 1930s electric desk fan, when held next to a microphone just right, sounds like an old propeller airplane, and a seltzer bottle makes a great Martian poison smoke dispenser.”

The War of the Worlds production will be a “full-immersion” theatre experience, with the cast, crew, ushers and staff dressed in 1930s attire and concessions that were available in the ‘30s. Before the show, the audience will watch a projection of newsreel clips, movie trailers and commercials from 1938, and even the tickets and programs will be printed in a vintage ‘30s style.

“It’s something I’ve always thought a theatre should do with any production,” Smith said. “Live theatre is all about bringing the audience into a different world, and the more things a production can do to accomplish that, the better. I can promise, if we do a play in the future that has a character on stage baking bread, the audience will smell the bread baking.”

Speaking of future plays, the Ensemble Stage Company also plans a production for the holiday season. Smith said details and audition dates will be announced soon.

Tickets for War of the Worlds are $10 and can be purchased in advance at the Blowing Rock Visitors Center, Gems by Gemini, Crippen's Restaurant and Black Dog Coffee Shop. Reservations can be made by calling 828-406-2884. If available, tickets can also be purchased by cash or check starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Blowing Rock School Auditorium on October 30.

For more information, call 828-719-8898 or 828-406-2884.

LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST

LATEST COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS

TOP NEWS ACROSS THE NATION

HIGH COUNTRY MAGAZINE