Aliens attack! ‘War of Worlds’ live on WKBN

October 29, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

By MILAN PAURICH

vindicator correspondent

YOUNGSTOWN — Dr. John Cox, one of the brightest multi- hyphenates on the local community-theater scene, will attempt to bring the excitement of live radio back to the Mahoning Valley. In conjunction with radio station WKBN-570 AM and the Youngstown Playhouse, Cox’s nascent Rosebud Theatre production company will conduct a live broadcast of H.G. Wells’ terrifying alien invasion chronicle, “War of the Worlds,” at 7 p.m. Sunday.

“The idea just sort of came to me,” Cox said in a recent interview. “I’m making all of the references local — it’s now set in Youngstown — and modernizing the version that [Orson] Welles did back in the ’30s. I guess you could say that it’s an adaptation of an adaptation.” Coincidentally, Oct. 30 marks the 71st anniversary of Welles’ original “Mercury Theatre on the Air” production, which aired nationwide on the Columbia Broadcasting System — and sparked a panic.

Sunday’s production will be at the WKBN studios and will not be open to the public.

Cox’s background in improvisational theater is sure to come in handy since his “WOTW” promises to be a largely improvised affair. “It’s all been pretty much last minute, and that’s part of the fun of doing improv. I’ve got a detailed outline of the script and some plot points that I developed while workshopping the story all week with the cast. In that way, it’s almost like an episode of HBO’s ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’” Like most things, Rosebud came about in a serendipitous way. “Last winter, when the Playhouse was closed, I started to think of options,” Cox explained.

“I’d been in rehearsals for ‘And Then There Were None,’ was cast as the lead in ‘Big’ and planned to direct ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ in March. Then it was all gone. I wondered, ‘Now what?’”

“There are a lot of really talented actors in this area,” he continued. “I tried to figure out how to keep everyone together and continue doing good work. That’s where the idea of Orson Welles and his troupe of actors came to mind. I wanted a sandbox for us to play in, so we thought of shows that we could do: different venues, multi-media, radio plays, anything. Maybe just get on a wagon and go town to town,” he said with a laugh.

WKBN is giving Cox and Rosebud their sandbox, as well as an hour of commercial-free air time — practically unheard of in this day and age. “We’re doing it live in the studio. It’s not meant to be a stage play; it’s a ‘radio play.’ Using your imagination to visualize what you’re hearing can only personalize the experience more for the listener.”

Despite ‘WOTW’s” Playhouse connection, Cox hopes to get as many area theater troupes involved in the project as possible. “I didn’t want to exclude anyone,” he said. ‘We all need to work together and help each other prosper and grow in our community.”

Among the friends Cox called in to help out are such heavy- hitters as John Pecano, Candy DiLullo, Christopher Fidram and Brandy Johanntges. “It’s moving fast, and I’m still rewriting and tightening to finalize the script and enhance the suspense. We’re also utilizing a lot of sound effects — 1938 radio and acting is a lot different from 2009 radio and acting,” Cox said. “The radio station is letting us come in daily to work, so it’s in rapid production.”

As far as any future radio broadcasts, Cox is cautiously optimistic. “If WKBN wants to do more projects with us, that would be great. It’s all learning and practicing a craft like any other. The challenge only increases the fun.”

X“War of the Worlds” will be broadcast live on 570 AM-WKBN Sunday at 7 p.m.