Helen Hayes-recommended We Happy Few (IPHIGENIA 2023; R.U.R. 2024) returns to the shadowed dreams of America’s finest poet of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe for this fall’s show. Resurrecting long-dormant adaptations of “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Masque of the Red Death,” We Happy Few will take the audience on a journey, both spiritual and literal, through the depths of man’s thirst for revenge, impulsive nature, and callous depravity. As timeless as ever, these three stories have become only more relevant as they speak to the realities of a world ravaged by disease and wracked by senseless violence and performative cruelty.
A Midnight Dreary collects three Poe stories: In “Masque of the Red Death,” a mighty lord sequesters himself and his court from a plague devastating the countryside. In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” a man needlessly kills his benefactor and methodically hides the evidence. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” a man takes his long-planned revenge on an unsuspecting rival. Poe himself narrates and guides us through each as we see what cruelty and madness lies behind humanity’s thin veneer of civility.
A Midnight Dreary performs at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (545 7th St SE, Washington, DC) on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from October 30 to November 22, with additional showings on Wednesday, October 29 and Monday, November 10. All performances begin at 7:30PM. Tickets start at $27 and are available online.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
A Midnight Dreary was adapted for the stage by Kerry McGee. It is based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. It is directed by Esteban Marmolejo-Suarez (LA LLORONA, SANDITON) and stars Rachel Dixon (SANDITON, R.U.R.), Victor Salinas (LA LLORONA, The 22+ Weddings of Hugo, GALA Hispanic Theatre), Em German (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Nu Sass), Paige O’Malley (R.U.R., KILL THE RIPPER), Andrew Quilpa (R.U.R., How The Sausage Gets Made, Faction of Fools), and Gillian Rydholm (The Boy Detective Fails, George Mason University). Produced by Kerry McGee. Production management by Wendy Snow Walker. Stage management by Mackenzie Wentela. Lights by Jason Aufdem-Brinke, set by Jon Reynolds, dramaturgy by Keith Hock, costuming by Paige O’Malley.
ABOUT WE HAPPY FEW
Founded in 2012, We Happy Few’s mission is to rediscover and reimagine classic stories that challenge, illuminate, and charm audiences. We Happy Few has established itself as one of Washington, DC’s best small theater companies (City Paper, 2021; the DCist, 2015) by nurturing a creative environment that thrives on ensemble collaborations with some of the nation’s most promising emerging theater artists. WHF’s flagship production of a six-actor, 90-minute HAMLET premiered at the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival to great acclaim, exploring the idea that the entire play unfolded in the title character’s mind. WHF’s 2017 production of HENRY V was hailed as “a fascinating, resonant, and important new take on a known work” (Broadway World). We Happy Few earned its first Helen Hayes Recommendation with 2018’s PERICLES, and has earned Helen Hayes nominations for 2019’s LOVERS’ VOWS and 2023’s KILL THE RIPPER.
