THEATER REVIEW: Haunted Poe, 10/22

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THEATER REVIEW: Haunted Poe, 10/22

POSTED: Thursday, October 29, 2009, 9:55 PM

Filed Under: Arts Theater

Courtesy of Haunted Poe

To get the back story on this haunted house-cum-play, which closes this Sun., Nov. 1, read this.

Let me preface this by saying: I do not like haunted houses.

The idea of scaring myself on purpose has never really appealed to me. I like a moderate level of shock. On par with ' I know I may be surprised, but I don't want to feel like my head is going to be chopped off with a chainsaw.

In this way, Haunted Poe is perfect. Based on Poe's eerie and disconcerting ' rather than terrifying ' tales, this haunted house is more theatrics than thrill, although I did jump once or twice.

As soon as you reach the landing in the Haunted Poe warehouse and you're greeted by two gory characters, the show begins and you're a part of it. Unlike other haunted houses, the goal is not to get through as quickly and as unscathed as possible, but rather to revel in each performance ' to create a relationship. The experience of the show mimics the relationship between reader and story ' you become immersed without having to commit to the action.

And while that may sound rather intellectual, the result of this is actually a lot of fun.

Like a good frock, the seams of Haunted Poe are well woven. As we proceeded from room to room throughout the house, the players juggled our group of 13 with others in front and behind us, managing to always be at the right place at the right time. I think that's what impressed me most ' how well orchestrated the production was. But there were also a few standouts. I don't want to give too much away (lest I ruin the surprise), but the mad tales of the axe-wielding narrator in The Black Cat (played by local playwriting celebrity Bruce Graham) and the impish recount of The Raven by the thoroughly committed Nathan Holt were my favorites.

The production value was superb. From the beautifully crafted and bulbous-eyed Poe puppets (that give a bawdy Poe bio in the beginning), to the real (albeit dead) cockroaches that lined one of the hallway walls, to the room covered with pages and pages of books ' nothing was spared in the creation of Poe's worlds.

I highly recommend Haunted Poe; however, the key to fully appreciating it is to know your Poe. Wiki The Tell-tale Heart, The Raven, The Black Cat, The Fall of the House of Usher, William Wilson, The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, The Murders in The Rue Morgue and The Pit and the Pendulum prior to venturing through, because without context some of the scenarios fall flat. My two favorite performances were also from two of Poe's works with which I was most familiar.

Buy Gold

Posted 2009-10-31 06:09:07

I love to read interesting post that has knowledge to impart! Thank you for sharing your insights! I will avidly wait for your next blog entry.

Poe Boston

Posted 2009-10-30 04:16:46

You are cordially invited to a free exhibition 

at the Boston Public Library



The Raven in the Frog Pond: 

Edgar Allan Poe and the City of Boston



December 17, 2009 - March 31, 2010



For details about Opening Events and other information, visit our Web site 

http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/english/poebostonexhibit/index.html 

or email poeboston@yahoo.com

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