As biography, The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story is rather dubious. As a piece of theater, it’s brilliant.
One of America’s most revered literary figures, Edgar Allan Poe had a troubled early life. His parents died when he was a small child. He was taken in, though never officially adopted, by the Allans of Richmond, Va., but his relationship with his foster father was tense, and Poe went off to college in poverty so dire he had to burn his furniture. Then his foster mother died, and Mr. Allan disowned him. By the time he reached his late 20s, though, Poe achieved success as a writer, and married his beloved Virginia, his first cousin, then just 13 years old.
First Folio Theatre‘s The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story, a site-specific theater piece performed at DuPage County’s gorgeous Mayslake Peabody Estate, presents a somewhat stylized version of the relationship between Poe and his young and reportedly unintellectual wife, downplaying the difficulties of the May-December marriage, and omitting some of the more scandalous parts of Poe’s life, such as his mysteriously intimate relationship with Fanny Osgood, a married woman. The play presents Poe as a tortured, romantic figure, with perhaps too much exposition in the scenes in which Virginia describes her husband. \
The historical Virginia Poe spoke with a lisp, which, thankfully, Diane Mair has seen fit not to reproduce in her measured and sedate portrayal. Christian Gray lays on Poe’s Southern accent so thickly and annoyingly that in the opening scene, his frenzied recital of "The Bells" sounds more like "bails." That’s the main flaw in this production, though. Presented in six acts in different rooms of the 1922 mansion, the play juxtaposes the Poes’ story with enactments of the writer’s work. In fact, the scenes in which the Poes don’t appear are the most riveting.
The audience starts out all together for the first scene, introducing the couple, then splits into two groups for the theatrical tour of the 30-room Tudor Revival structure. Each group therefore experiences the scenes in a different order, before coming together for the finale, "The Masque of the Red Death." Along the way, we get sequences from Poe’s better-known short stories and poems, including "The Raven," "Eldorado" and "Annabel Lee." The mobility-challenged should know that there are stairs to climb and brief scenes presented while the audience stands.
Everyone has his own favorites among Poe’s work. I would have gladly swapped "Ligeia" for "The Cask of Amontillado" or "The Fall of the House of Usher," but playwrightDavid Rice doubtless felt the spooky romance better fit his love-story theme. He did, however, give us stirring dramatizations of "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum." Michael Holding really shines as the madman and the prisoner. Bobby Arnold does a fine job with the garrulous constable, as well. You don’t want to see "The Pit" if you’re afraid of the dark.
Premiered in 2006, The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story received a Jeff Award nomination for New Adaptation in 2007. You get both some of the best of Poe and a look at an opulent historic house — lovely treats in this autumnal season.
Rating: ★★★½
The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story continues through November 4th at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st Street, Oak Brook (map), with performances at Wednesdays thru Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 3pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are $26-$37, and are available by phone (630-986-8067) or online through TicketTurtle.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at FirstFolio.org. (Running time: 2 hours, no intermission. The production is not wheelchair accessible and requires climbing stairs and a limited amount of standing.)
Photos by David Rice
artists
cast
Christian Gray (Edgar Allan Poe); Diane Mair (Virginia Poe); Michael Holding (The Madman, The Prisoner); Bobby Arnold (The Constable); Annelise Lawson (Ligeia); Robbie Bersano, Erica Bittner, Daniel Gilbert, Megan Ingram (ensemble)
behind the scenes
Michael Goldberg (director); Kyle Gettelman (set); Rachel Lambert (costumes); Christopher Kriz(sound designer); Michael McNamara (lighting); Kate Danziger (stage manager); Beth Zupec (asst. stage manager); David Rice (photos)
