Connoisseurs of custom cocktails and chilling chronicles are in luck.
The Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy tour swings through Toledo this weekend. Over the course of an hour-and-a-half performance, attendees are treated to four dramatic readings of Poe’s works: The Tell-tale Heart, The Masque of Red Death, The Black Cat, and The Raven .
Each of the readings is paired with a specialty cocktail.
The Toledo Club, located at 235 14th St., is hosting 12 performances that began Thursday and continue Friday and Saturday.
The group, organized through Fever events, drew rave reviews from Lisa Zimmerman, the event manager at Madison Masonic in Wisconsin, where they performed last week.
“They were like a very well-oiled machine,” Zimmerman said. “The show was amazing. I heard nothing but good comments and compliments from people after the show was over. There wasn’t any full glass left over, so the beverages must have been good.”
The specialty cocktails include the Pale Blue Eye, which is a light blue concoction made with blueberry vodka, fresh lemon juice, rose syrup, and topped with La Croix.
Edgar’s Twisted Brandy Milk Punch contains Kentucky Bourbon and French Brandy and is mixed with vanilla cream, milk syrup, and half and half before being topped with star anise.
The bright red Cocktail of Red Death contains 100-proof vodka, cherry herring, benedictine liquor, lime juice, pineapple juice, and bitters.
And the black-colored Nevermore contains orange peach blossom vodka, lime juice, and “secret spices.”
Abbey Zdrojewski, who helped coordinate the event for the Toledo Club, explained that, when the group reached out, she thought it seemed like a cool event for the space to host in its main dining room.
As the name suggests, the actors design the evening around alcohol, although they offer mocktails as well. Julia Tirinnanzi, one of the show’s writers and producers, explained that she has always been fascinated with the works of Poe, the American writer of poems and short stories who died in poverty at age 40 in 1849.
Poe would achieve fame posthumously for the unique way he blended horror, macabre, and mystery into his stories that was significantly ahead of his time.
She said she was eager to combine his literature with libations.
In creating the event, she wanted people not only to read Poe’s works, but to connect with them in a more interactive way.
“Everything we do is very immersive,” she explained. “The theater setting has been transformed into a macabre version of Edgar Allan Poe’s home. It feels like you’ve actually stepped back in time and you're actually inside his living room and writing space. It’s a very kind of dreary ambience that’s kind of chilling as well.”
Although some of the texts are trimmed and adapted to fit into the show, the actors believe that their monologue performances still capture the spirit of Poe’s writing.
William Draven, an actor in the show, talked about what his goals are when he’s performing in the show.
“For people that know Edgar Allan Poe's collected works, they’re brought to life in a dramatical presentation that is more than just reading the words off the page,” Draven said.
The actor added that part of the appeal of the show is delving further into what made these stories special.
“You see the words come to life, you see what emotions the characters these stories talk about are going through,” he said. “You get a chance to delve into the madness that Poe was synonymous with creating. If you’ve never read Poe, this is a fantastic opportunity to get familiar with four of his more well known works.”
At previous stops, the show has attracted crowds of literary enthusiasts and English teachers, in addition to attendees less familiar with his work but looking for a different experience.
Tickets, which start at $55, and more information are available at https://www.edgarallanpoebar.com/ .
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