Today, I'll be reviewing a musical, which recently was Off-Broadway. It is "Nevermore: The Invented Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allen Poe".
Image Credit to nevermoreshow.com
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
The story follows the life of Edgar Allen Poe, formerly Edgar Poe, as he goes from birth to death. Rather than a straight musical biography of Poe's life, it delves into his personal thoughts and internal monsters, with physical manifestations of his nightmares haunting him during the show. (It reminds me of Pink Floyd The Wall, which I reviewed a few weeks back). I really like this approach. I could feel his emotional turmoil in every moment.
The show has a very Gothic feel to it, but not just in the lines. The costumes and props were eccentric, with skewed shapes. For example, Poe's notebook, which he carries during most of the show. It has a weird, asymmetrical polygonal shape. Kind of funky and cool. And the aforementioned monsters were like lizard/ravens with twisted beaks.
The acting was quite amazing. Each performer, except for the one who played Poe, played multiple parts during the show. It's quite difficult to portray each character with a different voice, a different walk, a different way of holding their bodies. And these actors did it quite awesomely, giving a different life to each character, to say nothing of their singing! Quoth the raven "Give me more!" (In other words, I enjoyed their singing.)
One unfortunate thing was the music. Not the quality. The volume. They had the music playing over a loudspeaker, which from a Stage Manager's perspective, is like a horror movie moment waiting to happen. But besides the Tech Nightmare, at times the music would start to drown out the singers, which is never a good thing. The quality of the music was much better than the execution. It's a very moving and powerful score, with awe inspiring moments.
All in all, Nevermore is a fantastic show. Unfortunately, it's currently not showing. But when it starts showing again, go see it! Or, if not, think about pre-ordering the soundtrack, and make sure to check out their YouTube Channel, where they post clips from the show.
This is the Teenage Critic, signing off!
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