The Martians are Coming! Taking the Invasion From Stoop to Stage

Where do our publishable ideas come from? 

Writers know that ideas are everywhere; productive writers know how to turn observation, speculation and inspiration into something publishable--preferably in multiple forms.

A Martian Invasion?

In 2000, my son read a Junior Classic version of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells for a third grade book project. Being a broadcasting nerd, I filled him in on the infamous radio drama by Orson (no-relation) Welles in 1938 that caused a bit of national panic among listeners who believed Martians had actually begun their invasion of planet Earth by landing in a field in New Jersey. Even at nine, my son was dubious. How could anyone believe such a silly thing? He called up his grandfather, who relayed his own boyhood memory of sitting on his Brooklyn stoop that late October Sunday evening and watching as his frightened (and gullible) neighbors exited their house in a rush, loaded grandma into the old Ford and announced they were heading for the hills before the Martians got to Brooklyn. (Whether my practical dad doubted the invasion talk, or simply believed that his beloved Greenpoint could hold its own against any aggressor, isn't clear.)

The exchange of questions and explanations with my curious son evolved into an article for Cricket Magazine called "War of the Worlds; A Halloween Trick or Treat?" After all, if my young man wondered what life was like with no TV, no Internet and only a few stations on the radio, other kids might find that interesting, too. In my research for the article, I came across a photograph of an old-timer named William Dock holding an ancient long-barreled rifle, and the piece claimed he was recreating how he had protected his land and loved ones from the Martians before word broke that the 'news' of the invasion had been a misinterpreted radio drama. I stashed the photo away in a file with all my papers and clippings, cashed the check from Cricket, but never completely forgot the image of that old man.

This 1938 NY Daily News photo of William Dock inspired Martians Over Brooklyn

Dexter HS, 2013. Directed by Tomi Dres.
Pop (James Fischer) warns his fellow residents of the coming invasion 

That article made a few more dollars for me when a test prep publisher came calling, and having seen it in Cricket, asked to include it as a reading comprehension selection for their state test material. An added bonus for inclusion in state test material is that the authors are paid each time the article appears, meaning that each state's booklet each year is considered a stand-alone publication worthy of payment.

Evolution: the gradual development of something from a simple to more complex form

Years later, as director of my middle school's plays, I had produced a few original shows and was looking for another idea to develop. I knew I wanted to return to Orson Welles' radio drama, but needed a comic hook for school theatre groups. Another problem was that reproducing the very wordy and complex radio drama from 1938 was not only too challenging for my young actors, but wasn't at all funny. The humor would have to come only from those who reacted to it. In short, I had an idea, but no play.

It hit me like a cartoon anvil on the head while I was watching an old rerun of the Kelsey Grammer sitcom Frasier.  In it, radio host Frasier was celebrating his station's roots by recreating an old drama, using his inept friends, family and colleagues as his cast. It was, of course, a disaster of epic proportions. I was so taken with the tools and tricks of radio drama, I knew they'd make for a good visual for a stage play. Having kept my 'War of the Worlds' idea tucked away for a decade, details and connections now rushed into mind faster than I could write them down. I grabbed my file, rewound the Frasier and watched it again. And again.

Reviewing my old materials, I knew my central characters would of course be led by my eccentric old friend, now willing to go to great comic lengths to protect his loved ones. I just needed a way to unify the 'listeners' so that they could interact with each other; seeing individual families in their own homes listening to the radio is hard to stage and limiting. So, I simply returned to the story my father had told to my son. I set the show on the stoop of an apartment building in my dad's Brooklyn neighborhood. People could run in, run out, run by--it made for easy interactions with a variety of people and no need to change set pieces. The show would open with children on a stoop, in homage to my father. With no set changes for the exterior of the stoop, and only one set for the radio studio, I could have the continuous action I needed and seamlessly blend the broadcast with listener reaction.

Excerpt from Martians Over Brooklyn:  Pop is the first to announce the Martian invasion to a skeptical group of residents that includes his granddaughter Jo. Unfortunately for him, they are all too familiar with his flights of fancy.

MIKE:   What's with Pop?
JO:  (Shrugs, embarrassed.) Gas.
MIKE:   I'm not surprised. I've had your mother's cooking.
MARYBETH:   No, he says it's from Martians.
MIKE:  Martians? Is that the new restaurant over on Metropolitan Avenue?
CATHY:   No, you idiot! Martians! Like from outer space!
MIKE:   So he got gas from Martians. I get mine from your mother's corned beef. It happens. 
CATHY:  I'm serious. Pop says we're being invaded by Martians from outer space with poison gas. He says he heard it on the radio!
MIKE:  You going to start believing him now? At least three times a week he says General Stonewall Jackson is marching up Lorimer Street. And today he says that both Greta Garbo and ZaSu Pitts are crazy in love with him!
 CATHY:   I don't know. It didn't seem like one of his jokes. He seemed awful spooked.

My next brainstorm came with about my fifth viewing of that Frasier episode, and watching his pals destroy his program through their own incompetence, disinterest, and selfishness.  I needed a way to tie in the Brooklyn set with the radio folks anyway, so I rolled all those destructive Frasier-esque qualities into one and invented a high-maintenance, low-talent B-movie actress who would arrive with her agent to stay (cheaply) in his aunt's Brooklyn boarding house while working on the Mercury Theatre program in NYC. Her arrival could wreak havoc on two sets and do more damage than the Martians ever dreamed.

Excerpt from Martians Over Brooklyn: Residents anticipate the arrival of actress Evelyne Alforde, and it is evident that conflict exists long before the Martians arrive.

PATTY:  Evelyne Alforde. Gee! A real Hollywood actress…(Shy admission) I never heard of her.
MAX:  Nobody ever heard of her. Her agent is Mona's nephew. I'm just glad to hear he's booking something other than animal acts or we'd have that chimp who rides a bike staying here. 
CATHY:  Judging by the smell in the bathroom on my floor, I'd say he is staying here. 
MONA:   (To Pop, accusingly) Have you been boiling garlic and lemons in the tub again?
POP:   It helps my voice when I sing in the bath!
MONA:   Do it again and we'll see how well you can sing with an electric toaster in the tub!
POP:    So what's the big crime? I dried the garlic on the windowsill and put it back in the kitchen where I found it.
JO:  Oh, gross.
PATTY: Shhh, Josephine. There wasn't much garlic in the lamb tonight…Hey, maybe that Miss Alforde is doing research for a new acting part or something. I read in Photoplay that they do that! Maybe she's playing a down on her luck Brooklyn housewife and wants to see how working class people live. (Carried away with a dramatic retelling) Just like that movie Housewife! Remember? The one where Bette Davis steals George Brent away from his poor devoted wife, I forget her name, and then George Brent tragically runs over his own son with the car, but the boy's injury reunites his parents! (Suddenly stops and checks watch. Brightens up) Oh, look at the time. My program's on (Happily exits into house.)
MIKE:  Poor kid. She lives for all that Hollywood fantasy mumbo jumbo.
CATHY: You would, too, if your life was a bad B movie. I mean, her husband goes out for Yoo-Hoo and never comes back, leaving her with no income, two kids and a father-in-law who is still fighting the Civil War and dates movie stars he's never met.

Now, for the radio drama recreation, I was still stuck with unmanageable dialogue. I contacted the estate of Howard Koch, who wrote the original radio play for Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre group and asked for permission to use excerpts and paraphrases of his work. (The internet is an amazing resource.) It took six months of emails back and forth and turning over the script for approval (and a one-time payment of a small tributary fee), but I got an official release and good wishes. My actress character could play a few minor parts, try to highjack the live broadcast to pad her role, while leaving the other actors to not only play their live radio drama for real, but also interact comically with her off-air.

Excerpt from Martians Over Brooklyn: (Agent Sam and Evelyne discuss her career)

 SAM: Just listen to your director. And whatever you do, don't improvise. He's a bit temperamental. And, honey, if this doesn't work out, maybe acting isn't your bag.
EVELYNE:  Sam Grafton!
 SAM: How many times have I told you to stick to modeling? Unlike your last gig, it's perfectly acceptable for a model to be stiff and lifeless.
EVELYNE:  I assume you are referring to my last stage play? I'll have you know I received great notices from the reviewers. They said they absolutely loved my big death scene.
SAM:  No, they said they were happy when you died. There is a difference!
EVELYNE:  Well, forget the critics. They hate everything. I worry only about Mr. and Mrs. Front Porch, and the audience seemed to be having a wonderful time. 
SAM:  Are you kidding? The Lincolns had a better time at the theatre after John Wilkes Booth showed up!

Zachary Britton as Pop Bonacelli is ready to do battle in the Hudson River in
Lagrange Middle School's premiere production of Martians Over Brooklyn

Michigan's Dexter High School recreates Orson Welles' 'War of the Worlds' broadcast
 in Laurie Bryant's Martians Over Brooklyn

The old man from the photograph that started it all became Pop Bonacelli, a kindly, but deluded Civil War vet who isn't nearly as crazy as he'd like everyone to believe. All I had to do was surround him with a cast of characters who either believed or disbelieved the whole Martian invasion premise to create conflicts within the conflict. Toss in some Depression era sub-threads to create drama, comedy and emotion and the script worked. The audiences learned, as my young son did, that in 1938 people lived in fear of Hitler, invasions and super-weapons as the drumbeats of war in Europe sounded ever closer, families turned to the radio or movies for fantasy getaways as their own lives and economies crumbled, and emerging science fiction and fact were both capturing the imagination and breeding terror. In short, the world, if not New Jersey, was ripe for Orson Welles to stage his mock-invasion on the night before Halloween.

Cashing in

A third grader's book report led to a published article, royalties from standardized test preparation kits and continued royalties as the play is now being performed all around the country.

I wonder if it would work as a screenplay...

Martians Over Brooklyn is available from Heuer Publishing.