Listen to “War of the Worlds”  (1:07:39 min – 20-second delay at the start, our apologies) 

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“The War of the Worlds” – October 26, 2006 – Sioux City, IA Orpheum Theatre

The War of the Worlds was performed on October 28th, 2006 at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux City, IA.  The War of the Worlds was the first major production produced by the future founders of the Great Plains Radio Theatre Project. The cast consisted of twelve players and had a crew of eight people. This event was supported by a grant from Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The War of the Worlds radio drama written by Orson Welles was the first on-air presentation leading to great controversy and a moment of panic for the American listeners.

From left: Mike Newhouse, Tom Jones, Russ Gifford, Paul Guggenheimer, Ralph Swain, Gene Boykin Jr., Chad Gaul, Christopher Gaul, Dave Soelberg, Art Moss, Lenny Koupal, Eric Newhouse

WATCH “War of the Worlds”

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IF YOU PREFER TO WATCH RATHER THAN LISTEN ONLY, ALL OF THE VIDEOS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

Listen to “The Hitchhiker” (26:32 min) 

Listen to “Sorry Wrong Number” (32:47 min) 

Listen to “Quiet, Please”  (31:04 min) 

“An Evening of Radio Mystery Theatre” – April 26, 2007 – Western Iowa Tech Community College Black Box Theater.

On April 26, 2007, the Great Plains Radio Theatre Project held its first performance as the premiere of the new Black Box Theater at Western Iowa Tech Community College, Sioux City, IA.  All theater seats were sold out one week prior to the performance.  This was the first of many productions by GPR after incorporating officially as a state non-profit due to the success of The War of the Worlds stage production the previous October at the Sioux City Orpheum Theatre. Three early radio mystery dramas were performed on stage with ten players.  The Hitchhiker (1942) and Sorry, Wrong Number! (1943) written by Lucille Fletcher, and Quiet, Please! (1949) the final episode of the series of the same name written by Wyllis Cooper was staged.  A live Foley sound effects as well as digital effects and music closely followed the original scripts.  As an added feature, students from the Western Iowa Tech Community College choir sang the original radio commercial jingles.

Front row: Hedda Dekker, Andrea Conrad, Lindsay Washburn, Dorene Titus, Kelly Meyers, Kathy Pfautsch. Back row: Tom Jones, Nolley Vereen, Lenny Koupal, Ralph Swain, Paul Guggenheimer, Eddie Dunn

WATCH “The Hitchhiker”

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WATCH “Sorry, Wrong Number”

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WATCH “Quiet, Please”

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