PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
3/31/2021
Contact: Andrew Rothman
From: Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
40 River Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44122
Phone: 440-247-8955
E-mail: cvlt@cvlt.org
Website: www.CVLT.org
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
brings "The War of the Worlds" to the web April 16-18
Subhead: Actors perform the
original 1938 radio script for one-weekend exclusive video
stream
CHAGRIN
FALLS, OH - Chagrin Valley Little Theatre will be offering
a made-for-streaming production of “The War of the Worlds”
for the weekend of April 16 - 18. Admission is $15 for
any-time access to the show throughout the weekend via the
Broadway On Demand service.
CBS
radio’s 1938 “The War of the Worlds” broadcast was adapted
by Howard E. Koch from the 1898 alien invasion novel by
H.G. Wells. Actor Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre
troupe presented the tale in a ‘breaking news report’
format. Despite indications at four points during the show
that it was a dramatic performance, the faux-reality style
was unfamiliar to audiences and caused some listeners to
panic. The newspapers of the day, sensing the rise of
radio as a threat to their business, seized on these
reports as an opportunity to discredit the radio as a
reliable news source. The huge news coverage turned the
broadcast, along with Orson Welles, into the stuff of
legend.
Director
Theresa Benyo-Marzullo recognized “The War of the Worlds”
as perfectly suited to the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre’s
requirements for a show that could be performed with
social distancing and internet delivery in mind. It is one
in a series of web streams the 90 year old non-profit
organization has offered during the pandemic.
She
gathered actors Don Bernardo, Brian Diehl, Jim Marzullo,
and Sally Suren to perform the original 1938 script on
CVLT’s River Street Playhouse stage. Suren does
double-duty as actor and foley artist, producing many of
the show’s sound effects with a table of supplies.
Video
and audio producer Andrew Rothman was brought in to handle
documenting the performance for the one-weekend web
stream. Audiences are invited to watch as these seasoned
actors create the various characters in the script for the
camera, or to close their eyes and enjoy the radio play as
listeners would have done 83 years ago.
Chagrin
Valley Little Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded
through individual and corporate contributions. Our
programming is made possible in part by the citizens of
Cuyahoga Country through Cuyahoga County Arts and Culture
and by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature
to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency
that funds and supports quality arts experiences to
strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and
economically.
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