Greasepaint Presents NEVERMORE, 7/28-8/5

Delve into the macabre with Greasepaint Youtheatre as it celebrates one of the world's most fascinating writers in an unforgettable new musical play. The semi-biographical musical, NEVERMORE - THE IMAGINARY LIFE AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF Edgar Allan POE, blends fact and fiction. The show's unique opera-like score uses poetic dialogue, eerie sound effects, underscored verse, and haunting songs to tell the story of the American writer's tormented life. Book, lyrics, and music by Jonathan Christenson with direction by Pete Bish, musical direction by Curtis Moeller, and choreography by April Rozier.

Young Greasepaint powerhouse, Bennett Woods, stars as the tormented Poe, the literary rock star of his day, in this Scottsdale production. The musical follows him from love to love, strung together by the strangely constant presence of the deadly pulmonary disease, tuberculosis. Tuberculosis caused widespread public concern in the 19th and early 20th century was due to "consumption". Young Edgar lost his mother to the disease, followed by his brother, and then his cousin and child bride, 13-year old Virginia Clemm. While not confirmed, it is believed that Poe himself descended into madness and succumbed to the disease in 1849, portrayed strikingly in the muscial with the song "We Are Your Nightmares," with people and characters from his life enveloping the writer: "In the end, though we love you, we are what will destroy you."

Gorgeous and grotesque, NEVERMORE explores the events that shape Poe's character and career, blurring the line between fact and fiction -- after all, as Poe himself writes, "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

Run dates: July 28 through August 5, 2017

Showtimes: Friday, July 28, 2017 at 7:00pm

Saturday, July 29 and August 5 at 7:00pm

Sunday, July 30 matinee at 2:00pm

Saturday, August 5 matinee at 2:00pm

Ticket Prices: $15 - $17

Venue: The historic Stagebrush Theatre, 7020 East 2nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Box Office: 480-949-7529 Greasepaint.org

Photo credit: Laura Durant