Stage Write

  When the Theatre on the Square closed its doors earlier this year, the perennial fall favorite Cabaret Poe needed to find a new home. The show settled into the fourth floor of Circle Centre Mall. It's an unexpected choice, but they make it work. All the best elements are still there, macabre humor, a trio of cynical performers who share the lead, and a delightful selection of Edgar Allan Poe's work. The result is a production that will apparently work in any performance space.  The staging is simple. There are multi-media screens that fill with sinister silhouettes or scribbles of writing in different scenes. A raised stage in the center works to enhance numbers as the actors strut up and down the stairs in heels and bustles.  Ben Asaykwee, the show's creator, stars in each performance, while the other two roles rotate between four cast members. Julie Lyn Barber and Georgeanna Smith Wade were featured in the show I attended. Asaykwee, as always, is charismatic a...

Cabaret Poe is a macabre delight that has become an annual tradition for Indy theatergoers. For the first time it has moved from its Irvington home to Theater on the Square on Mass Ave and has a more elaborate set. This was my first time seeing the show, so I can't compare it to previous productions, but I can say the current version is a must see.  The entire original musical was created by Ben Asaykwee, and uses Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry and infamous short stories to create a collective work perfectly suited for October. At times the cast performs a scene, at others they recite poetry. There's a wonderful balance of variety. There's also live music on the stage enhancing every scene. Each performance features a cast of three people, but Asaykwee is the only actor featured in every show. The remaining two parts rotate between four women. The performance I saw featured Jaddy Ciucci and Renae Stone. Asaykwee could bring on a chill or a laugh with a single raised...