Poetry from a telltale heart

By Marcelle Richards
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Tomorrow 19th century Gothic literature will meet contemporary
theater in the West Coast premiere of “Closed on Account of
Rabies” ““ a Halloween tribute to the master of macabre,
Edgar Allan Poe.

The title came from the finding, 147 years after Poe’s
solitary death on the street, that he died not from alcohol but
from rabies.

The morbid tidbit became the namesake for co-producer Hal
Willner’s 1995 album featuring artists such as Christopher
Walken, Iggy Pop and Marianne Faithful, which has since led to the
staging of three shows, all at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn,
N.Y.

And now, the Conqueror Poe is resurrected once again, changing
locations from the Gothic East Coast chapel to the high-ceiling
stage of Royce.

“The idea of a Poe show seemed so right,” said
director David Sefton. “There’s a kind of dark humor
that runs through Edgar Allan Poe, and that was part of the
selection, keeping the mixture between the dark and the darkly
funny.”

From the creeping paranoia of “The Raven” to the
post-mortem obsession of “Berenice,” cult actors Bud
Cort, Robert Wisdom, Chris Parnell and others will perform
renditions of pieces as timeless as they are melancholy.

In a “campfire” setting, as co-producer Janine
Nichols likes to call it, the cast of readers follow a
story-telling format with minimal stage directing.

“Those stories were written at a time possibly more
innocent than ours but they still trigger a lot of deep emotion
““ I find that every time I read it,” said Robert
Wisdom, who will be reading “Mask of the Red
Death.”

Willner’s intrigue traces back to his childhood, when he
memorized portions of “The Raven” and later gained
artistic inspiration as his readings increased.

“He is a subject matter who relates to my love of
montaging,” Willner said, his throaty voice about as close to
death as one could get over the phone.

The montage method uses juxtaposition of objects or images that
create an effect by the pairing, which is popular in Poe’s
writings.

“I prefer commencing with the consideration of an
effect,” Poe wrote in his 1846 essay, “The Philosophy
of Composition.”

“If any literary work is too long to be read in one
sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely
important effect derivable from the unity of impression,” Poe
continues.

While Willner said the writing of Poe played a part in the
production, the more visible influence will be the montage method
“”mdash; Willner promises the show will carry surprises for those in
attendance.

The cast list won’t even be set until the night of the
performance.

“Very 11th hour,” Sefton said.

But the show almost came to a halt before its UCLA debut.

Nichols and fellow co-producer Hal Willner, both New Yorkers,
were in the planning stages when the World Trade Center towers were
hit.

Nichols said they debated if the show would still be in good
taste, if people would even come to the show.

But they decided the show would go on, with slight modifications
to the play list.

“The Premature Burial” was cut.

“If you can’t read Halloween stories around a
campfire on Halloween, all is lost,” Nichols said.