One Man Poe

I have seen several productions of Poe poems and stories over the years. But none compared the artistry, intensity, and total immersion into his characters better than Stephen Smith. When I walked into the theater, he was sitting at a small and simple table composing a summary of the action sequence of an alcoholic who commits acts of great violence when drunk, often aimed at his beloved pet, a "black cat" devoted to him. Terrifying in the build up to the horrendous crimes he commits, for which he will pay the ultimate price the following day. Then after transforming into an elderly recluse with a bad eye in full view of the audience, he begins to bemoan the death of his beloved Lenore, then slowly falls into a terrorized victim of "The Rav... full review

Stephen Smith’s performance allows for no artificiality, and his mastery of Poe’s language brings such an immediacy to the terror it feels as if one is squirming through truth crime documentaries. Not to be missed. ... full review