Martians to Attack New Jersey Once Again, Heading for Rutgers

Martians will invade Rutgers this week when the campus radio station WRSU-FM presents a live broadcast of a new, updated version of H.G. Wells’ classic, "The War of the Worlds," at 9 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 29, from the Bush Senior Center at Route 516 and Cottrell Road, Old Bridge. The program will be broadcast in New Jersey on 88.7 WRSU-FM, New Brunswick, and streamed live on the web at www.wrsu.org.

Audience members are asked to arrive no later than 8:30 p.m. at the Bush Senior Center. Admission is free.

The special one-time presentation is based on Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 Mercury Radio Theater broadcast that created a national panic when listeners believed Martians had actually landed in Grovers Mill, N.J.

Although the WRSU production also takes place in 1938, listeners will recognize prominent Rutgers, New Brunswick-area and Old Bridge references and locations. Instead of Grovers Mill, the aliens will touch down in Cheesequake in Old Bridge.

The seeds of the WRSU production were planted nearly two years ago.

"It began as a small simple thing," said project playwright and co-director Wayne Clawans. Co-Director David Johns said that the initial plan was to organize a dramatic reading of the original play as part of the Halloween celebration of a small Old Bridge museum where he and Clawans volunteer.

The project became more involved after they met at the WRSU 60th Anniversary in April 2008 and began discussing how a dramatic reading could easily be broadcast as a radio play.

Clawans volunteered to rewrite the 1938 script and Johns began looking for a bigger venue that could accommodate a larger cast and sound-effects equipment. They assembled a cast and crew of some 30 Rutgers students, alumni staff and community members.

“We approached the Old Bridge Cultural Arts Committee (a division of the Old Bridge Parks and Recreation Department), which I also volunteer for,” Johns said. “They liked the idea, and we became a part of the 2009 Old Bridge Halloween Spooktacular."

For directions or more information, call 732-721-5600, ext. 4999, or e-mail recreation@oldbridge.com.

For more information on the LIVE broadcast/webcast, contact Geoffrey Pape, 732-932-7802, ext. 900.