Carly Nicolai in Edgar in the Red Room | Photo by Matt Turner
Presented by The Shylock Project
I caught Edgar in the Red Room quite late in the evening. It was also my last show of the festival; I was in a melancholy frame of mind and so was well primed for this affectionate little tribute to the sad and ghoulish ethos of Edgar Allan Poe. Created by Matt Chiorini and Greg Giovanini, this whimsical musical pulls from some of his iconic works to draw us into his final, feverish nightmare. And the creepy antics here do seem conjured by the last, lonely synapses firing in a dying mind.
At the top of the show, the Writer (Joe Calveric), a tall Poe-like stand in, keeps getting interrupted by some music chords. Suddenly there is a second Poe-like Writer (Carly Nicholai), much shorter, and the two suddenly break out into the show’s opening number, chasing each other around the projection screen that looms as the centrepiece of the production. There is a cute and trippy gag as they, at opposite ends of the screen, coordinate their movements to appear as a single stretched body across the canvas.
As Nicholai’s manifestation of the Writer furiously writes, Calveric’s Writer, mourning the death of his beloved Annabel Lee, is welcomed into the house of Roderick Usher (Kilian Crowley). These two lonely men are haunted by a pair of spectres—a Woman in White (Chloe Budziszewski) and a Woman in Black (Maya June Dwyer) who is, quite clearly, a raven. Those wings are absolutely gorgeous and the crowning achievement of Kylee Galarneau’s costume design! A prominently featured travelling door has been cleverly fitted out with protruding bars to allow her to cling to the frame ominously.
There is plenty of playful spectacle and macabre motifs drawing from Poe’s oeuvre. There is creepy scratching at chamber doors, a family curse, and people being walled up in tombs. Projection designer Lindsey Voorhees’ shadow puppets are a highlight, well integrated into the action and so much fun to behold, especially some of the low-tech yet super cool transitional effects.
The songs are really quite charming, many of them featuring Poe’s poetry. And the vocals, specifically by Nicolai and Crowley, are considerably more powerful than I expected from this crafty little show. With simple yet cleverly used theatrical devices, this team has crafted an impressively rich and evocative atmosphere. Edgar in the Red Room is an enchanting show and felt like a fitting end for my 2025 Toronto Fringe experience.
