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Review: The Dark Library of Edgar Allan Poe

This is not Vincent Price’s Poe, nor is it a rebranded version of Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy II, which took place in September. Although both events pair cocktail flights with frightful flights of fancy, The Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe takes an almost avant garde approach to distilling the author’s work into a cabaret-style theatrical experience. The tales and poems are not so much dramatized as interpreted through dance, backed by original music and narration. The experimentation extends to the cocktails as well, whose flavor profiles have been crafted to evoke taste sensations redolent of each story’s mood. It’s an ambitious approach that challenges expectations but yields unexpected results that should please audiences open to new interpretations of classic literature.


Dark Library Edgar Allan Poe Review: Tales & Poems

The Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe weaves together five tales and poems, into a 75-minute anthology with an overarching narrative thread. With one exception, the presentation relies on recorded narration rather than spoken recitation, while the story is enacted by dancers. The lead character (identified only as “Man” in the program) could be Poe himself or possibly one of the author’s anonymous narrators. It’s up to the audience to decide whether the dancers are actual characters or demons of the artist’s tortured mind, inspiring him to write the stories we are seeing.

The performance begins with a brief excerpt from “Annabelle Lee,” followed by “Tell Tale Heart,” “The Pit and Pendulum,” and “Lenore” before wrapping up with “The Raven.” The texts have been edited to make the stories flow together. For example, as “Tell Tale Heart” ends, “Annabelle Lee” resumes with the line “And this was the reason that…a wind blew out of a cloud, chilling and killing my beautiful Annabelle Lee,” suggesting that her death was a punishment for his committing murder. The connection to “The Pit and the Pendulum” is less clear, but “Lenore” and “The Raven” – like “Annabelle Lee” – are about mourning the death of a beloved young woman. The former is the only time the Man speaks, which is a perfect choice: because the poem is a eulogy addressed to mourners, it makes sense that he is speaking to the audience as if they are attending the funeral. The latter’s devastating ending provides a perfect conclusion to the story.

The interpretative dance aspect might seem inappropriate to the material, but it works as a visual counterpoint to the narration. Within the dimly lit performance space, the walls dotted with scribbled pages, the intricately coordinated movements suggest a phantasmagoria taking place within the mind of the author – a fever dream that we share. It certainly helps that the dancers occasionally acknowledge the audience, pausing to place props on their tables, such as bricks marked with the words Darkness, Death, Torture, etc., before the “Pit and the Pendulum” sequence.* Even viewers most resistant to this approach will be won over by the finale, with a female dancer decked out in black attire and stark makeup suggesting the winged raven tormenting the Man. It’s an absolutely perfect way of visualizing the story, adding something you would not get from simply hearing the poem recited for the millionth time.

Footnote:

  • Considering that this story was paired with a cocktail containing amontillado (see below), we suspect that “The Cask of Amontillado” was replaced at the last minute by “The Pit and the Pendulum.”

Dark Library Edgar Allan Poe Review: Cocktails

Many events offer themed cocktails during the Halloween season; often, the theming extends no further than a spooky name and a garish garnish on the glass. Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe serves cocktails that truly taste like the stories they represent. This can be off-putting for those interested only in sweet, fruity drinks with cute names like “The Beetle’s Juice,” but even if you don’t love every flavor, each one evokes a mood that immerses you deeper into the world of The Dark Library.

Up first is “Funeral by the Sea,” paired with “Annabelle Lee,” which features the most conventionally pleasing flavor profile. Desert Sotol and Danish Aquavit are enhanced with ginger, lime, coconut, and seaweed brine to evoke poem’s moody Kingdom by the Sea (one patron remarked, “I can taste the ocean”).

The most challenging is “Still Beeting Heart.” Red beet juice and balsamic vinegar provide a blood-red color; chocolate bitter and mezcal smoke create a flavor that, depending on your palette, could be mistaken for iron-rich blood; the impression is amplified by the dancers visiting your table with a bowl of red liquid containing what looks in the darkened surroundings like a heart. Love it or hate it, the cocktail colors your perception of “The Tell Tale Heart” in a visceral way that you can literally taste.

After “Still Beeting Heart,” the last two cocktails have less impact. “Cobblestone” features Amontillado sherry, cognac, and allspice for a flavor appropriate to an underground setting, which works for “The Pit and the Pendulum” even if it was originally intended for “The Cask of Amontillado.” “Inkwell” is composed of bergamot, bitter amari, and gin, which captures the final despair of “The Raven.”

Whether or not the cocktails would appeal as a flight served in a tasting room, their flavors work in the context of the stories, taking your palette on an adventure paralleling the sights and sounds of The Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe.


Dark Library Edgar Allan Poe Review: Conclusion

Presented by After Hours Theatre Company, a group specializing in immersive live events and interactive livestreams, The Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe is, to use its creator’s droll terminology, the “Poe-totype” of a series inspired by famous literary figures, bringing their work to life with cocktails, dance, movement, and experiential design. This is certainly an auspicious beginning, with an intriguing format that does not fit easily into established categories. It’s theatrical, but it’s not a play. It’s not quite cabaret. It’s not conventional ballet. But, however, you define it, if you think Poe has been done to death, The Dark Library brings his work to life to life in a new way.

Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe
3

Rating Scale

0 – Awful
1 – Poor
2 – Mediocre
3 – Good
4 – Great
5 – Excellent

Wait! Didn’t we just review Poe and cocktails last month? No, that was the Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy. A completely new pairing of Poe and aperitifs, The Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe is more avant garde, interpreting the author’s work in its own unique way. Because it’s so unconventional we’re a bit borderline on our rating: those who prefer traditional horror literature might be intimidated by what they find on these shelves, but those hoping to check out something new should apply for this library card.

Dark Library: Edgar Allan Poe runs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from October 11 through November 2, with additional performances on October 24, 30, and 31. Shows start at 7:30pm and 9:30pm most nights, at 5pm and 7pm on Sundays. Tickets are $79 for general admission, $129 for VIP (includes premium seating and upgraded spirits). Four craft cocktails are included with admission; alcoholic and non-alcoholic options are available. The venue is the Academy for New Musical Theatre at 5628 Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood. There is no venue parking, only street parking.

Steve Biodrowski, Administrator

A graduate of USC film school, Steve Biodrowski has worked as a film critic, journalist, and editor at Movieline, Premiere, Le Cinephage, The Dark Side., Cinefantastique magazine, Fandom.com, and Cinescape Online. He is currently Managing Editor of Cinefantastique Online and owner-operator of Hollywood Gothique.