The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story at Oak Park Festival Theatre is an entertaining and unique experience, literally on multiple levels. The production takes place in historic and beautiful Pleasant Home, with different scenes performed in every room.
The production is composed of six of Poe’s poems and short stories. Main actors Christian Gray, as Poe, and Erica Bittner, as Virginia Poe’s ghost, were engaging, as they told incredible stories of Poe’s life. The Pleasant Home and the Halloween season were the perfect time and place for the haunting stories of heartbreak, mystery, torment and horror.
Christian Gray, Erica Bittner, Jillian Patterson, Photo by Bryan Wakefield.
An interesting twist in the experience saw the audience split into two groups, each going into different rooms. Each group saw the same performance but in different orders. I give all the actors extra credit for navigating flawlessly through the multilevel home.
Christian Gray as Edgar Allan Poe, Photo by Bryan Wakefield.
Designed by George Washington Maher, Prairie-style mansion Pleasant Home opened in 1897. Historically the John Farson House, its location at the intersection of Pleasant and Home led to the more familiar name. In 1972 it was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996.
Photo courtesy of Pleasant Home Foundation
Debuting in 1975, professional theater company Oak Park Festival Theatre operates with three core values. It is rooted in Shakespeare. It is inclusive and collaborative. It is company-centered.
Erica Bittner as Virginia Poe, Photo by Bryan Wakefield.
The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story has been extended through Nov. 21. Each performance is limited to 60, making it that much more personal. There also is a digital program.
— John Wroblewski, online writer
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