Frightful enjoyable with Edgar Allan Poe in ‘A Midnight Dreary’ by We Happy Few

For Edgar Allan Poe, tragedy and sorrow have been as omnipresent on this planet as on the web page. Throughout his lamentably brief life (Poe died in 1849 at age 40), he mastered the macabre as an outlet for the cruelties he skilled, utilizing his tales to predict the horrible value of vanity, obsession, and greed. It is that very same chilling power that has taken up residence as A Midnight Dreary by We Happy Few transforms the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) into an interactive and twisted look into the tormented chaos of Poe’s thoughts.

Using not one however three Poes to convey not one however three eerie tales to life (or is it to demise?), A Midnight Dreary rapidly plunges the ethereal gallery of CHAW into the darkness of a black field catacombs. Over the course of a pulse-quickening hour, the viewers experiences three grim narratives one after the opposite, first as uncomfortable visitors at Prince Prospero’s lavish masquerade ball in The Masque of Red Death; then within the damp stone halls of The Cask of Amontillado; and eventually via The Tell-tale Heart, the notorious story beating out the rhythm of insanity and homicide.

Rotating via the function of lead narrator for the haunting tales, every of the three Poes teased out a special facet of the tortured poet’s genius. Paige O’Malley (Poe 1) expertly navigated Poe’s melodramatic highs and lows as The Mask of the Red Death Narrator, Fortunado, and The (midwestern-accented) Constable. Rachel Dixon (Poe 3) was a mannequin of chilly calculation and lethal poise, weaving thriller with paranoia in her portrayal of Montresor in The Cask of Amontillado in addition to The Red Death and The Old Man within the different tales. Víctor Salinas (Poe 2) let frenzied craze and slurred speech overtake his efficiency because the narrator in The Tell-tale Heart and settled right into a manic insanity as Prince Prospero, embodying the murderous climax of so lots of Poe’s tales.

Tasked with remodeling the black field theater at CHAW right into a lush and unsettling dreamscape of heightened feelings and harmful deeds was the frighteningly imaginative artistic group of We Happy Few. Direction by Esteban Marmolejo-Suarez made use of all the first ground, winding the viewers and performers alike via galleries, alongside partitions, round corners, and on broad stairs to imitate the twists of character and conscience. Props designer Kerry McGee and set designer Jon Reynolds labored collectively seamlessly to assemble the shapeshifting world, full with creaking partitions, dripping cobwebs, and festive masks for the visitors. Lighting design by Jason Aufdem-Brinke was equally central and cleverly executed, plunging you into darkness in a single second and casting a flood of blood-red mild within the subsequent. Mike Winch’s sound design was at its greatest throughout The Tell-tale Heart because the physique was dismembered and the guts refused to remain silent. Costume design by Paige O’Malley largely stored to a easy black and white theme to offset the night’s dramatics.

Stitching collectively midnight encounters and brushes with insanity, We Happy Few’s A Midnight Dreary is the proper steadiness of enjoyable and fright. A pleasant but nightmarish night, becoming for each the season and the instances we dwell in, the rigorously curated tales haunting the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop are as unsettling as they’re reflections of the darkish and merciless corners of a world Poe knew all too nicely. For these courageous sufficient to face this gothic retreat as soon as upon a midnight dreary, all that’s left is to boost a glass and cry to the heavens: Nevermore!

Running Time: 60 minutes with no intermission

A Midnight Dreary performs via November 22, 2025, offered by We Happy Few performing on the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop – 545 seventh St SE, Washington, DC. Purchase tickets (from $27) online.

A Midnight Dreary
Compiled from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe
Directed by Esteban Marmolejo-Suarez

The digital program is here.

FEATURING
Cast A
Rachel Dixon (Poe 3) as The Red Death, Montresor, & The Old Man
Paige O’Malley (Poe 1) as The Mask of the Red Death Narrator, Fortunado, & The Constable
Victor Salinas (Poe 2) as Prince Prospero, The Tell Tale Heart Narrator, & Luchesi
Cast B
Em German (Poe 2) as Prince Prospero, The Tell Tale Heart Narrator, & Luchesi
Andrew Quilpa (Poe 3) as The Red Death, Montresor, & The Old Man
Gill Rydholm (Poe 1) as The Mask of the Red Death Narrator, Fortunado, & The Constable

CREATIVE TEAM
Kenzi Wentela (stage supervisor)
Kerry McGee (producer, props)
Wendy Snow Waker (manufacturing supervisor)
Jon Reynolds (set designer)
Jason Aufdem-Brinke (lighting designer)
Paige O’Malley (costume designer)
Mike Winch (sound designer)
Keith Hock (entrance of home)

SEE ALSO:
For spooky season, We Happy Few to current ‘A Midnight Dreary’ (information story, October 3, 2025)