Get ready for Halloween: One Kansas City theater plots to give us Poe in a cemetery
If you are just dying to see some live theater, what better place to finally do so this Halloween season than in a cemetery?
The Coterie children’s theater and the Union Cemetery Historical Society are collaborating on a unique offering, “Electric Poe,” which will run Thursdays-Sundays Sept. 17-Oct. 31 at the historic cemetery south of Crown Center. The presentation will help fill the local theater void that has dragged on since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.
“Electric Poe,” designed for ages 10 and older, will star actor and Coterie teaching artist R.H. Wilhoit delivering Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Premature Burial” and “The Masque of the Red Death” in the style of an 1850s orator. The 45-minute production, adapted and directed by Coterie producing artistic director Jeff Church, will feature music by guitarist Rex Hobart.
“When we understood The Coterie needed to move outside in order to safely bring small groups of families together — and social distance them — Union Cemetery was our first thought,” Church said, “especially given its close proximity to The Coterie’s home in Crown Center.”
Admission will be through $50 purchases of “plots,” which can accommodate up to four people, with patrons required to bring their own chairs and blankets. Limited plots are available to ensure social distancing for “Electric Poe,” which will be presented outside at the “holding vault” near the cemetery entrance. Face masks will be required while entering and moving around the cemetery.
Start times will vary based on sunset, beginning with 7 p.m. the first two weeks and getting earlier through the run of the production. There will be performances at 4 and 6 p.m. on Halloween.
“Our grounds at sunset will set the perfect tone for this unique pairing of Edgar Allan Poe classics,” said Kevin Fewell, president of the Union Cemetery Historical Society.
The full schedule: 7 p.m. Sept. 17-20 and 24-27, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1-4 and 8-11, 6 p.m. Oct. 15-18, 22-25 and 29-30, 4 and 6 p.m. Oct. 31.
If a show is canceled because of weather, ticket holders can reschedule for another performance.
For tickets and more information, go to thecoterie.org or call 816-474-6552.
