Nevermore--The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, a "musical gothic tale" written and directed by Jonathan Christenson that presents a fantastical take on the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe, will begin an open-ended engagement Off-Broadway at New World Stages in January.
Since its 2009 premiere at the Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton, where it won seven Sterling Awards (Edmonton's theatrical honors), Nevermore has played across Canada, and in 2010 visited the Barbican Centre in London and the New Victory Theater in New York.
Six of the original seven cast members--Scott Shpeley as Edgar Allan Poe, Gaelan Beatty, Shannon Blanchett, Beth Graham, Ryan Parker and Garett Ross--will be returning for the New World Stages production, an expanded version with new songs and structural revisions.
Each of the actors aside from Shpeley plays a variety of characters from Poe's life. The show portrays real events along with some fictional ones to tell the story of the great writer's life and death, with references throughout to his poems and short stories.
New York is an appropriate locale for the story of Poe, as he spent his final years in The Bronx, where the Department of Parks and Recreation maintains Poe Cottage as a historic site open to visitors.
Nevermore begins performances January 14--five days before Poe's 206th birthday--with an official opening January 25.
