Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre

E66965

repertory company theatre company

Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre was an influential 1930s New York repertory company known for its innovative stage productions and for launching Welles’s groundbreaking radio work, including the famous “War of the Worlds” broadcast.

Aliases (2)

Mercury Theatre ×50
Mercury Theatre on the Air ×1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	repertory company → theatre company →
activeInDecade	1930s →
alsoKnownAs	Mercury Theatre on the Air → The Mercury Theatre →
artisticDirector	Orson Welles →
basedIn	New York City →
country	United States →
creativeDirector	Orson Welles →
foundedBy	John Houseman → Orson Welles →
genre	radio drama → theatre →
hasMainSubject	classic plays → literary adaptations →
headquartersLocation	New York City →
heritage	American modernist theatre →
inception	1937 →
industry	performing arts →
influenced	American radio drama → American theatre → Orson Welles’ film career →
knownFor	The War of the Worlds broadcast panic → experimental Shakespeare adaptations → innovative stage productions → pioneering radio drama →
languageOfWork	English →
locatedIn	Manhattan →
location	New York City →
medium	radio → stage →
notableMember	Agnes Moorehead → Everett Sloane → George Coulouris → John Houseman → Joseph Cotten → Orson Welles →
notableWork	Caesar (1937 stage production) → The Cradle Will Rock (associated production) → The Mercury Theatre on the Air → The War of the Worlds (radio drama) →
partOf	Golden Age of Radio →
producer	John Houseman →
significantEvent	1938 War of the Worlds broadcast → launch of The Mercury Theatre on the Air in 1938 →
startTime	late 1930s →
style	experimental staging → politically engaged theatre →

Referenced by (4)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Agnes Moorehead ("Mercury Theatre") → George Coulouris ("Mercury Theatre") →	memberOf
John Houseman ("Mercury Theatre on the Air") →	produced
Norman Lloyd →	theatreCompany