If you’ve yet to see an adult/teen series puppet show at the Center for Puppetry Arts, Tales of Edgar Allan Poe is a great one to start with. The puppeteers and actors bring Poe’s classics to life with haunting effect.
An eerie set and spooky sound effects provide the backdrop for Poe’s macabre works The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Bells, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, Berenice, The Oval Portrait, M.S. Found in a Bottle and Lenore. The gothic-themed program is often chilling, at times humorous, and always entertaining. The ‘table-top’ puppetry style relies on the puppeteers to become one with the characters, and the actors do so adeptly as they delve into madness, murder, obsession, mutilation and revenge. That being said, for those unfamiliar with Poe’s work, it’s not all gore and blood. This isn’t Saw VII. Like Poe’s stories, the production thrills with a creeping mysteriousness as the storyteller descents into a tortured psyche.
If you’ve never been to the Center, this production is an excellent way to introduce yourself to something new and unique. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Tales of Edgar Allan Poe runs through March 3. It is recommended for ages 12 and up. For more information, visit http://www.puppet.org/perform/poe.shtml.