CAPA and Shadowbox Live to Present Original Rock Ballet THE MASQUE, 5/15

Presented by CAPA and Shadowbox Live, The Masque is a full-length, original rock ballet that weaves dance and music together to bring to life seven works from Edgar Allan Poe inside the over-arching storyline of his short story "The Masque of the Red Death." Performed live on stage with the dancers of Cleveland's Verb Ballets, the performers and musicians of Shadowbox Live intertwine contemporary rock-and-roll with classical works from Beethoven, Schoenberg, Ruggles, and Ives in this unconventional and stunning production.

CAPA and Shadowbox Live presents The Masque at the Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad St.) on Thursday, May 15, at 8 pm. Tickets are $15-$28 at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000.

The ballet is centered on Poe's renowned short story, The Masque of the Red Death. In it, Prince Prospero attempts to avoid a dangerous plague known as the Red Death by hiding in his castle along with many other wealthy nobles. He decides to hold a masquerade ball within seven colored rooms of the castle, but in the midst of the revelry, a mysterious, shrouded figure appears wearing a mask resembling a victim of the Red Death and begins to make his way through each of the rooms.

A Shadowbox Live metaperformer portrays Poe and guides the audience from room to room as the evening unfolds and sinks into chaos. Each colored room broaches a work of Poe:

Blue Room - "Annabel Lee"

Poe's last complete poem describes the narrator's love for a beautiful woman that he feels was killed by angels envious of their burning passion.

Green Room - "The Bells"

Unlike most of Poe's poems, it explores more than one mood as it describes four different types of bells and the emotions they invoke-the silver bells of winter, the golden wedding bells, the brazen alarm bells, and the heavy iron bells of the church steeple.

Orange Room - "The Raven"

This world renowned poem tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught young man lamenting the loss of his love and his slow fall into madness.

Purple Room - "The Fall of the House of Usher"

In this short story, the narrator visits a sick friend and his twin sister, but soon becomes entwined in the madness that has encompassed the house and his friend's mind.

White Room - "Eleonora"

This short story portrays a young, unnamed narrator who falls madly in love, but when the young woman dies, he struggles to let go of her ghost and move on.

Violet Room - "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether"

This comedic short story follows an unnamed narrator who visits a mental institution only to discover that the patients are posing as the doctors.

Black Room - "The Pit and the Pendulum"

This short story tells of the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition. Unlike many of Poe's stories which are aided by the supernatural, this work emphasizes reality with its heavy focus on the senses.

"This production is Poe as you've never experienced him," says Stev Guyer, Shadowbox Live Executive Producer and Lead Composer for The Masque. "It's haunting and exciting, funny at times, and terrifying at others. After playing to a sold out crowd in Cleveland, we're thrilled to bring it home to Columbus."