BWW Reviews: NEVERMORE Has Lots of Style but Not Enough Substance

Nearly any sumptuous slice of playwright/composer/director Jonathan Christenson's Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe contains a delectable serving of imaginative theatrics.

The clever concept of having a troupe of players act out the story of America's most exquisitely grim literary figure as though it were scripted by the writer himself is enhanced by an appropriately languid score, playfully macabre costumes by Bretta Gerecke and a fine company of actor/singers.

But the consistently gloomy tone of the production, peppered with brief sparks of dark humor, makes the evening as a whole wear thin quickly. Though Poe's story is certainly a somber one, more variety is needed to keep the two acts interesting.

As played by Scott Shpeley, Poe is naïve and soft-spoken from childhood to his oddly-detailed death at age 40. Born to theatrical parents and eventually raised by a cruel merchant who disowns him, all of his loved ones tend to die young, turn alcoholic or go mad. His teen romance with Elmira Royster (grimly funny Shannon Blanchet) ends under the manipulative orchestrations of her father and his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Sissy (giggly Beth Graham) ends after her five year bout with tuberculosis.

The second half is highlighted by a musical rendering of The Raven and livened up a bit by Ryan Parker's boisterous performance as the literary critic who recognizes Poe's genius.

But with the central character so outwardly unemotional and such little depth given to the narrative, Nevermore contains far more details in its visuals than it does in its text.