Bryna Bella, Rosalind Saunders, Parham Rownaghi, Rachel Manson, Joy Thompson, Rennaldo Quinicot, Eli Holliday, Nailah Renuka, and Stella Kulagowski from “Masque of the Red Death”, Photo by Hayley Hruska

“Is it enough?!!!” Rosalind Saunders’ Dawn screams at our host, a representative of the one percent—AI tech mogul, Darius Prospero (Parham Rownaghi)—which is the same, essentially, as screaming into the void. She’s just finished her rendition of “All of Me,” the classic jazz standard: “You took the best, so why not take the rest? Baby, take all of me.” After some playful tap dancing, that abject “Is it enough” is deeply jarring and one of the more affecting moments in this queer cabaret retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s ghastly short story. Masque of the Red Death, despite a few hokey set-ups, taps into some raw emotions and generally feels very of the now. Continue Reading