Electric Poe an Immense Accomplishment

If you like good fiction, you will like Electric Poe… 

I am not a true theater person – I enjoy it, but it is not my favorite artistic medium. The reason I say this is because Electric Poe (by the Coterie Theatre at Union Cemetery) broke through the cynical shell that surrounds my brain when I ingest a piece of theater for the first time.

Edgar Allen Poe’s work is an impressive thing to do well theatrically because it is very linguistic and cerebrally descriptive in a prose-centric way. The amazing thing about Electric Poe is that it takes those elements that make Poe’s work so good and adapts them with a confidence and identity that allows the production to breathe as its own body.

I was skeptical of the electric guitar at first but the distorted jangle of a tone it sets is as perfect for Electric Poe as it was for Silent Hill. A highlight of the score was William Wilson, when the juxtaposition of chilled out guitar chords and actor R.H. ‘Hollis’ Wilholt’s dramatic telling of paranoia meshed to make me feel simultaneously comforted and intrigued.

The direction and adaptation were very entertaining and Wilhoit’s strong emotional choices gave the entire production a good foundation and resonated throughout. The perspective of Griswold, Poe’s rival in writing, and his unhinged rantings keep Poe himself as an almost deified figure that bolsters the eeriness of his stories. The depth of this premise also allows for subplots to creep in that bolster the character development of Griswold as well. My favorite aspect of the show is the character changes between the stories and Griswold’s narrative, which allow for maniacally intentional character breaks that generate so much emotional tension. This principle is used best in William Wilson when Wilholt changes his voice from Wilson’s to Griswold’s while reciting the same story to recontextualize what he is saying in a way that makes Griswold's extremely mottled character so endearing.

When it came to The Raven, I felt a little more intention was needed. I very much enjoy the original story but this telling of it lacked the atmosphere I feel when reading it. Wilholt’s vocal tone as the narrator of this piece feels a little foolhardy. This man is supposed to be slowly descending into madness and for most of this story, he sounds very ‘together.’ When combined with the raised guitar licks on the “quoth the raven, nevermore” lines, I was pulled out of the experience which is disappointing for Edgar Allen Poe’s landmark piece of writing.

Don’t let that last paragraph fool you though; I seriously enjoyed this production and I implore you to seek it out as well. The atmosphere and writing created a beautiful deep dive into the human condition and this show is an immense accomplishment for everyone involved.