Even though my birthday is in August, my brother Dave called last month to say, “I HAVE FOUND YOUR BIRTHDAY PRESENT! WAR OF THE WORLDS THE MUSICAL!”
“Well,” I said, “I suppose it could have been made into a musical.”
“Starring Richard Burton!”
He said he had all the songs and was sending it to me on a CD.
I was therefore expecting a little-known Original Broadway Cast Recording. I was looking forward to hearing Richard Burton sing.
The first song was a ode to disbelief that martians were coming. Catchy, but not catchy in a good pop song way, catchy in a “This song only has two lines you can remember” way. Richard Burton literally read out loud from the book accompanied by some truly trippy 70s music. After they appropriated Moody Blues’ “Forever Autumn,” I thought, “Perhaps Dave is wrong. This is not a musical,” and I turned to Wikipedia.
As everyone else already knows, I was listening to War of the Worlds, the Best-Selling Concept Album. Not a Broadway show, but still, a time capsule of the music I was supposed to be listening to in the 70’s. Go here, scroll down and listen to some samples.
Of course, it’s even been updated. I’ve ordered the re-release starring Liam Neeson.
I hear it’s also in book form.
2 responses to “War of the Worlds: The Musical!”
I’ve been to Grover’s Corner (or was it Mill?). Back in the day when I was trying distance bicycling, on a trifling 25 mile trip, we rolled through it and I caught my breath long enough to notice the sign.
Becs- It was Grover’s Mill, but it was Horsell Common in the book and album.