Orson Welles

Look into the skies. Do you see flying saucers? Well, count yourself lucky. Almost seventy-years ago today, thousands of people across the country would probably have sworn they did. It was on this day in 1938 that the genius of Orson Welles and the magic of radio combined to both terrorize and transfix an entire nation.

These days, ‘Genius’ is a label that’s applied with almost repugnant familiarity to anyone who achieves the slightest modicum of ability in practically any medium. In the days of Mr. Welles, however, it had to be earned. And his rights to its ownership are in little, if any dispute.

The Mercury Theatre on the Air was founded by Mr. Welles and his primary collaborator, John Houseman in July, 1938. Together they created an impressive list of works, including the only stage performance of Macbeth to have an all-black cast. And in October of that year, at the age of just 21, Mr, Welles and his troupe brought forth a radio performance of such consummate skill and boundless audacity, it riveted half a nation to their seats. With the aid of a well-seasoned cast, a few elementary sound effects and about 200 miles of raw nerve, they convinced a vast swathe of the population that the Martians had landed. The show ran for an hour and a half, and when it was over and it’s fictional status was finally revealed, the public outcry at such elegant deception was overwhelming. Mr. Welles’ iconic performance as ‘The Shadow’ earlier that year had already made him a star. This made him a legend.

Viewed from seven decades on, it’s a sad reality that, were someone to attempt the same thing today they’d almost certainly be arrested for inciting hysteria, and possibly terrorism. But the true shame is that with so many channels to choose from, the vast pool of talent [allegedly] shared by those paid to fill them, and the abundant presence of technology that would itself have been Science Fiction at the time of this show, modern media contains no trace of even one ounce of the imagination, originality, ingenuity and Grade-A Cajones it took to create this classic almost 70-years ago.

Sometimes, progress can actually bring quite the opposite.

http://www.mercurytheatre.info/