The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City by Orson Welles and John Houseman. They had initial success in the theatre, then went to radio, and one of the most notable radio broadcasts of all time, The War of the Worlds. It has been suggested that Drama (art form) be merged into this article or section. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World[1], Gotham Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area    - City 1,214. ... Orson Welles in March 1937 George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was a director of film and the theatre, as well as an actor, screenwriter, broadcaster and producer. ... John Houseman John Houseman (September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born actor and film producer. ... The War of the Worlds, a radio adaptation by Orson Welles based upon H. G. Wells classic novel, was performed by Mercury Theatre on the Air as a Halloween special on October 30, 1938. ...

In addition to Welles and Houseman, The Mercury Theatre troupe included Joseph Cotten, Martin Gabel, Alice Frost, Ray Collins, Paul Stewart, Virginia Welles, Agnes Moorehead, and Everett Sloane. Much of the troupe would later appear in Welles' films at RKO, particularly Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. Joseph Cotten, circa 1956. ... Martin Gabel (born June 19, 1912 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died May 22, 1986 in New York, New York, USA from a heart attack) was an American actor, film director and film producer. ... Collins in The Racket (1951) Ray Collins (December 10, 1889 – July 11, 1965) was an American actor in film, stage, radio, and television. ... Paul Stewart was a movie actor who appeared in Citizen Kane, Edge of Doom and the film noir classic Kiss Me Deadly. ... Moorehead as Endora on Bewitched Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900 – April 30, 1974) was an Oscar-nominated American character actress. ... Sloane in The Enforcer (1951 movie) Manhattan-born Everett Sloane (October 1, 1909 - August 6, 1965) was a television and movie actor. ... RKO could stand for: RKO Pictures The R.K.O. - finishing manoever (and initials) of WWE professional wrestler Randy Orton. ... Citizen Kane is a 1941 mystery/drama film released by RKO Pictures. ... The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington. ...

Theatre

Their first production was the June 1937 staging of Marc Blitzstein's controversial labor union opera, The Cradle Will Rock. [1] 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Marc Blitzstein (March 2, 1905 - January 22, 1964) was an American composer. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Sydney Opera House: one of the worlds most recognizable opera houses and landmarks Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content or primary entertainment is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the... The 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein was originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project. ...

Later that same year, beginning with assets of only $100, Welles and the Mercury company earned a reputation for their inventive adaptations of William Shakespeare's works: Julius Caesar set in contemporary Fascist Italy, and a voodoo-themed Macbeth with an exclusively African American cast. The last five minutes of a Macbeth performance survives on film; it can be downloaded from The Mercury Theatre on the Air website. (see below) Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare probably written in 1599. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... DEFINITION OF VODOUN Ewe Vudusi, Togo West Africa The Vodoun (Vudu Voodoo Vodou Vodun Vaudou Vaudaux) religion at its cosmological, theological, ritual and philosophical core, is an African ancestral religion, practiced today largely in West Africa, Haiti and througout the Diaspora. ... Scene from Macbeth, depicting the witches conjuring of an apparition in Act IV, Scene I. Painting by William Rimmer This article is on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black), is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

Radio

Welles had already worked extensively in radio drama, playing The Shadow for a year, and directing a seven-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. In 1938, he was offered a chance to direct his own weekly, hour-long radio series, initially called First Person Singular (though this title was never announced on air, and the Radio Guide listed the first episode under the banner "Mercury Theatre,") then The Mercury Theatre on the Air. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Audio theatre. ... Who knows what evil lurks?—The Shadow, as seen on the cover of the July 15, 1939 issue of The Shadow Magazine. ... Victor-Marie Hugo. ... Portrait of Cosette by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables (1862) Les Misérables (trans. ...

Welles insisted his Mercury company--actors and crew--be involved in the radio series. This was an unprecedented and expensive request, especially for one so young as Welles. He won out, however, and went on to produce some of the finest radio drama of any era.

The Mercury Theatre on the Air was an hour-long dramatic radio program which began in the summer of 1938 on the CBS radio network. Most episodes dramatized many works of classic and contemporary literature. Houseman wrote the early scripts for the series himself, turning the job over to Howard Koch at the beginning of October. Music for the program was conducted by Bernard Herrmann. 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... Howard Koch (1902-1995) was an American screenwriter. ... Bernard Herrmann (June 29, 1911 – December 24, 1975) was a composer who is generally regarded today as one of the greatest of all film composers. ...

Their first radio production was of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with Welles playing both Count Dracula and Doctor Seward; other adaptations included Treasure Island, A Tale of Two Cities, The Thirty-Nine Steps, The Man Who Was Thursday and The Count of Monte Cristo. Abraham Bram Stoker (November 8, 1847–April 20, 1912) was an Irish writer, best remembered as the author of the influential horror novel Dracula. ... Bela Lugosi as Dracula; U.S. postage stamp first issued in 1997 as part of a series celebrating Famous Movie Monsters Dracula (1897) is a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, and the name of the worlds most famous vampire character. ... Treasure Island. ... A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a historical novel by Charles Dickens; it is moreover a moral novel strongly concerned with themes of guilt, shame and patriotism. ... The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by John Buchan, first published in 1915. ... The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1907. ... The Count of Monte Cristo (Le comte de Monte Cristo) is a classic adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ...

Originally scheduled for nine weeks, the network extended the run into the autumn, moving the show from its Monday night slot, where it was the summer substitute for the Lux Radio Theater, to a Sunday night slot opposite Edgar Bergen's popular variety show. Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network, 1934-1935; CBS 1935-1955), adapted first Broadway stage and then (and especially) films to hourlong live radio presentations and became the standard by which future radio and early television anthologies would be judged. ... Edgar John Bergen (born February 16, 1903; died September 30, 1978) was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist. ...

The early programs were praised by critics, but ratings were low. One broadcast changed the ratings: The October 30, 1938 adaptation of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Time Machine. ... The War of the Worlds, a radio adaptation by Orson Welles based upon H. G. Wells classic novel, was performed by Mercury Theatre on the Air as a Halloween special on October 30, 1938. ...

Possibly thousands of listeners thought Martians were in fact invading the earth, due to the faux-news quality of most of the broadcast. Significant publicity was generated, and The Mercury Theatre on the Air quickly became one of radio's top-rated shows. NewS (NEWS) is a J-pop group from Johnny & Associates, which also produced groups such as SMAP, TOKIO, Kinki Kids and Tackey & Tsubasa. ...

The War of the Worlds notoriety had a welcome side effect of netting the show the sponsorship of Campbell's Soup, guaranteeing its survival for a period, and beginning on December 9, 1938, the show was known as The Campbell Playhouse. Campbell Soup Company ( NYSE: CPB) (also known as Campbells) is undeniably the most well-known producer of canned soups and related products in the United States (and possibly the world). ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Campbell Playhouse was a sponsored continuation of the Mercury Theater on the Air, a direct result of the instant publicity from the War of the Worlds panic. ...

Welles revived the Mercury Theatre title for a short series in the summer of 1946. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

The company moved to Hollywood for their second season, and continued briefly after Welles' final perfomance in March of 1940. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

Welles would use the banner "Mercury Productions" on many of his films from the 1940s and 1950s, long after all the original actors and producers were gone.

Many of the Mercury Theatre productions can be downloaded from The Mercury Theatre on the Air website. (see below)

External links

• The Mercury Theatre on the Air (includes MP3 and/or Real Audio downloads of all surviving broadcasts)
• War of the Worlds website provides history of the War of the Worlds broadcast