West Windsor Arts invites the public to step back in time to the night Orson Welles’ 1938 “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast made West Windsor famous for something that never happened — Martians landing in Grover’s Mill.

The broadcast, seen by some as a Halloween prank gone terribly wrong, comes to life in an original play called Hysteria! Or, They Came Through the Air, which will be read at West Windsor Arts on Sunday, October 26 from 4 to 6 pm, as part of the “Martian Weekend” celebration in West Windsor. Community groups and organizations all over town will be celebrating the anniversary of the broadcast with bike rides, reenactments, ham radios, and more.

The play was written by Greg T. Nanni, directed by Kelly O’Donnell, and features a cast of local community actors.

“The play explores the making of the ‘War of the Worlds’ broadcast and why it was so bold and daring at the time,” said Nanni. “It had all these moments of genius, but ultimately it had a bad effect — leaving many people believing that the story was true.”

Nanni said he was always interested in how all the elements came together on that Mischief Night (the night before Halloween) in 1938 — the original book by H.G. Wells, the convincing reading by Orson Welles, and the alleged media coverage.

“I was looking at the newspaper angle and how it helped to create this insane mass hysteria,” he said. “It was shocking how the news made it sound like everyone ran outside to panic, when in reality most people, perhaps with their hearts racing from Welles’ rendition, never even left their homes.”

His play asks the question: Was the broadcast so impactful because people wanted to believe the story, or did the truth get lost in the noise?

O’Donnell said that they are planning more than a staged reading that night, and are encouraging lots of audience participation. “We want to dramatize both the history and the myth,” she said. “Greg’s play is a fun and fascinating way to celebrate West Windsor’s quirky claim to fame — a town famous for something that never happened.”

Conceived by West Windsor Arts Executive Director Aylin Green, and developed in collaboration with the Historical Society of West Windsor and historian A. Brad Schwartz, author of Broadcast Hysteria, the play draws parallels between the panic of 1938 and today’s digital world, where misinformation can spread at lightning speed.

After the reading, the audience can stay for a talkback with the playwright, director, and creative team, including members of the Historical Society of West Windsor.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit westwindsorarts.org.