Radio

This passage discusses one of the most famous radio shows ever called "War of the Worlds."

Lexile Level: 470L

Categories: History Art & Music

Years ago the Mercury Theater put on radio plays. This was before TV. Radio shows were very popular before TV. One play the Mercury Theater did was called War of the Worlds. It was based on a book. H.G. Wells wrote the book. In the book, a spaceship from another planet lands on Earth. A monster is in the spaceship. The radio play lasted 50 minutes. It aired on Halloween night in 1938. The radio play was done like it was a news program. A fake news reporter described the spaceship landing. The star of the radio play was Orson Welles. He later became a famous movie actor. He directed several movies too. Many people listening to the radio play thought it was real. They got scared. They thought a spaceship had really landed. Some people called the radio station to see if it was true. Today, it is one of the most famous radio plays ever.