The Invisible Man (radio)

“The Invisible Man” is a radio program from the American radio anthology series Radio Tales. The anthology series adapted classic works of American and world literature for the radio. The series was a recipient of numerous awards, including four Gracie Allen Awards from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television (in 2004, [ [http://www.awrt.org/press-releases/2004/Press_Release_%20Announce_Winners.pdf "AWRT Press Release"] AWRT.org. Accessed March 21, 2008.] 2003, [ [http://www.npr.org/about/press/030402.gracie.html "NPR Productions Win Gracie Allen Awards"] NPR.org. Accessed March 21, 2008.] 2001, [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20011126020253/www.awrt.org/awards/2000GracieWinners.html "2001 Gracie Allen Award Winners"] AWRT.org, as indexed by the Internet Archive at Archive.org. Accessed March 21, 2008.] and 1998), a New York Festivals WorldMedal, [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20050207122048/http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/res/pdf/2004RPwinners.pdf "2004 Winners, Radio Programming and Promotion, New York Festivals"] NewYorkFestivals.com, as indexed by the Internet Archive at Archive.org. Accessed March 21, 2008.] and a Golden Reel Merit Award. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20010802161539/www.nfcb.org/2001reelsinfo.html "NFCB Announces 2001 Golden Reel Award Winners"] NFCB.org, as indexed by the Internet Archive at Archive.org. Accessed March 21, 2008.] “The Invisible Man" program from the Radio Tales series was an adaptation of the classic novel by H. G. Wells.

Broadcast History

The Radio Tales production of “The Invisible Man” was first broadcast via National Public Radio on April 10th, 2001 [National Public Radio: "NPR Quarterly Edition Spring 2001". NPR Marketing, Vol. VII, No. II] . The program encompassed two half-hour installments that were distributed to NPR member stations as part of the NPR Playhouse cultural series. Since November 28th, 2002, the entire Radio Tales series has aired in reruns on the Sonic Theater channel (163) of the XM Satellite Radio service [ [http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/features/sonictheater.xmc "Sonic Theater"] XMRadio.com. Accessed May 22, 2008.] . “The Invisible Man” program debuted on XM Satellite Radio on May 10, 2003.

Production Information

The program was produced and script edited by series producer Winnie Waldron, who also served as the on-air host [ [http://www.winifredphillips.com/wp_bio.html "Winifred Phillips Official Site: Biography"] Winifredphillips.com. Accessed May 19, 2008.] . Composer Winifred Phillips created over fifty-six minutes of music for the program, and also performed as the featured actress [ [http://www.mninter.net/~jstearns/nprPH.html#top "NPR Playhouse - January - March, 2001"] MNinter.net. Accessed March 21, 2008.] . “The Invisible Man” was part of the sixth year of Radio Tales on NPR Playhouse [National Public Radio: "NPR Quarterly Edition Spring 2001". NPR Marketing, Vol. VII, No. II] .

Opening narration

Plot Summary

The story begins as the narrator is confronted at home by an unseen force which emerges from the shadows of the narrator’s bedroom. This turns out to be a former student at the University where the narrator works as a physician. This former student has employed his expertise in chemistry to become completely invisible – but instead of using this discovery to further the field of chemistry, he has used his invisibility to commit crimes. All this is relayed to the narrator by the invisible man, who says he is relieved to have stumbled upon a former scientific associate who would understand his plight. He describes his plan to dominate and terrify the public (with the narrator acting as an anonymous confederate). But the conversation is interrupted by the sound of policemen downstairs, who have entered the house in search of a notorious ‘invisible’ criminal. The narrator and the invisible man engage in a brief physical struggle, which leads out to the staircase and ends with the narrator flung down on the landing. The invisible man assaults the officers and then flees the house.

Later that day a threatening note is slipped under the front door – one that promises death to the narrator. Making sure all the doors and windows are locked, the narrator takes a gun from a bedroom drawer. Soon after, the windows in the house begin shattering one by one as the invisible man smashes them in. Rushing to a broken window, the narrator is startled by another loud crash of glass, and drops the revolver to the ground below. After this, the narrator rushes to the kitchen in time to witness the invisible man battering the shutters with an axe. Then the invisible man discovers the dropped revolver on the ground near him, picks it up and begins firing at the narrator, who quickly ducks into the adjacent room. The police burst upon the scene at this moment just as the invisible man rushes into the room carrying a revolver and an axe. After a violent struggle in the dining room, the narrator climbs out a window and makes a run for it. The invisible man follows, as the narrator had expected, and the chase leads into the center of town, where the townsfolk begin coming to the narrator’s aid. They throw sticks and shovels, one of which strikes the invisible man, and then the crowd is able to bear him down under a hail of blows and kicks. The savage beating kills the invisible man, who slowly returns to visibility as he lies dead in the street.

References

External Links

* [http://www.radiotales.com/ The Official Radio Tales® Web Site]
* [http://www.audioville.co.uk/store/view_productcategory.php?Id=59 Radio Tales® Full Series - Streaming Audio Excerpts]
* [http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelpage.xmc?ch=163 XM Satellite Radio – Information on the Sonic Theater Channel]