Gift Theatre to Present WAR OF THE WORLDS Halloween Broadcasts, 10/30-11/2

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Orson Welles' spectacular, historic Halloween media hoax about Martians invading the earth, the Gift Theatre offers an alternate re-imagining of the infamous 1938 radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton's staged re-creation of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast is updated with locations shifted to 1938 Chicago. The performances, part of the Chicago Park District's Classics in the Parks series, will feature live music by the Chicago City Wide Symphony Orchestra and Foley artists creating sound effects as it celebrates the Golden Age of American radio. H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, A Radio Drama will be staged Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at Jefferson Memorial Park, 4822 N. Long Ave and Nov. 7-9 at Lincoln Park Cultural Center, N. Lincoln Park West. Suitable for ages 6 and up. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. 773-283-7071

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, A Radio Drama
Presented by The Gift Theatre
Wednesday, Oct. 30 - Saturday, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m. at Jefferson Memorial Park, 4822 N. Long Ave.
Thursday-Friday, Nov. 7-8 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 9 at 3 and 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West

Advance reservations are recommended. Call The Gift at 773-283-7071.

On October 30, the actual 75th anniversary of Orson Welles' radio broadcast, the Gift's performance will be streamed live on their website, www.thegifttheatre.org

When it aired on Halloween in 1938, the hour-long War of the Worlds radio broadcast created by Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre Company and presented as a news bulletin, drove more than a million panicked Americans from coast to coast to the brink of suicide. Frank Suerth, a sixth-generation Chicagoan and founder of the Northwest Chicago Historical Society, was instrumental in adapting the War of the Worlds script to 1938 Chicago.