Experience 'War of the Worlds' in Libertyville

In the spirit of Halloween, the Improv Playhouse Radio Players brings “The War of the Worlds” to life at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, on the Improv Playhouse main stage, 735 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville.

This year marks the 72nd anniversary of the original Mercury Theatre Broadcast, which first aired Oct. 30, 1938, and starred Orson Welles.

Some listeners heard only a portion of this classic broadcast, which was an adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel, and in the atmosphere of tension and anxiety just before World War II, took it to be a news broadcast.

Newspapers reported that panic ensued, with people fleeing the area, others thinking they could smell poison gas or could see flashes of lightning in the distance. Some historians calculated that about 6 million heard the CBS broadcast, 1.7 million believed it to be true, and 1.2 million were “genuinely frightened.”

Within a month, there were 12,500 newspaper articles about the broadcast or its impact, while Adolf Hitler cited the panic as “evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy.”

The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a show featuring the acclaimed New York drama company founded by Orson Welles and John Houseman, also featured the talents of Agnes Moorehead, Bernard Herrmann and George Coulouris.

The Improv Playhouse Radio Players, which is a professional, not-for-profit outreach component of the Improv Playhouse, was developed to perform classic radio drama, seeking to educate, inspire and entertain through programming that reflects the history of America and classic literature.

For details about this performance, visit improvplayhouse.com.