Mercury Theatre
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.
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. Other future stars of the stage, screen, and television, like
Betty Garrett, also appeared in productions in smaller parts.
Their first production was the June
1937 staging of
Marc Blitzstein's controversial
labor union opera,
The Cradle Will Rock. [
1]
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)
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.
Welles insisted his Mercury company â€" actors and crew â€" 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Welles revived the
Mercury Theatre title for a short series in the summer of
1946.
The company moved to
Hollywood for their second season, and continued briefly after Welles' final performance in March of 1940.
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)
*
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
