Bob Plasse, Ken Stomski and Jay Pagluica have been instrumental in bringing the stage production of “The War of the Worlds in Western Mass.” to fruition. The live show is slated Oct. 22 at Westfield Technical Academy on Smith Avenue. (Photo by Lori Szepelak)
Familiar voices and faces from the greater Westfield area will descend on the auditorium at Westfield Technical Academy to bring “The War of the Worlds in Western Mass.” to life on Oct. 22.
“Fans of classic radio, science fiction, and music will all enjoy this show,” said Jay Pagluica, host of Westfield State University’s 89.5 WSKB radio’s Friday morning show that features JP’s Golden Age of Radio.
The show begins at 7 p.m. sharp and area residents are encouraged to begin arriving at 6:30.
“Since this is a radio show that happens to be performed in front of a live studio audience, just as it was done back in the day, scripts will be in-hand during the show,” said Pagluica. “Weekly radio actors were often handed their parts just a couple days before the show.”
Pagluica said the concept for the show began last Halloween when he and Pete Cowles, an audio engineer at WSKB, aired the original 1939 version of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds during his radio show. While the show was running, the men chatted off-air.
“We said wouldn’t it be fun to actually do a live broadcast – on stage – in front of a live studio audience just like in the 30s and 40s?” said Pagluica.
After discussing the project with Bob Plasse, staff associate, advancement and university relations at Westfield State University, Plasse sought advice from a colleague, George Delisle, who immediately was hooked.
“Turns out George had been involved in something similar many years ago in New York,” said Pagluica.
As cast members gear up for their dress rehearsals in the coming days, Plasse is working on his role as “audience coach.”
“Since, in classic live radio productions, the audience was part of the show, Bob will take a few minutes to warm up the audience and explain the use of cue cards and how the audience should react – and when,” said Pagluica.
Pagluica and Delisle are co-authors of the story adaptation and are key cast members. “Respectively, we play the host of JP’s Talk About Town and Professor Charles Carter, an astronomer from the Boston Museum of Science who happens to be working at UMass Amherst as this event takes place,” said Pagluica.
Serving behind the scenes include Cowles, Ken Stomski, foley artist, and Pete Gaudreau, lighting director.
Westfield High School Band Director Patrick Kennedy and the school’s Jazz Band will also be part of the show.
“They are the musical guests that were already scheduled for this date before ‘strange things’ began to happen,” said Pagluica.
The production will last approximately two hours which includes a 20-minute intermission. The Westfield Technical Academy’s Tiger’s Pride restaurant, powered by its culinary arts program, will be selling refreshments during the break.
There is no charge for admission. Donations will be accepted with proceeds to benefit the Westfield High School Band.
“The show starts just as it does each week,” said Pagluica. “A little music, a little talk, and then phone calls start coming in about odd things happening nearby.”
The show is being recorded for broadcast on Oct. 23 and 30 from 6 to 8 a.m. on WSKB and streaming worldwide on WSKG.org.
“Oct. 30 is a bit special as it’s the anniversary of the Orson Welles 1939 broadcast,” said Pagluica. “We figure if, when this is over, just one person somewhere believes – even just a little, we’ve done our job well.”
