Nevermore, a new musical by Matt Conner with lyrics adapted from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and book by Grace Barnes, might be a work one would want to see twice to experience how it comes across the second time. Billed by director Eric Schaeffer as a “cross between musical theatre and Cirque du Soleil” and staged at Arlington, Virginia’s Signature Theatre in a black landscape with barren trees and dim bluish lights, Nevermore unfolds as a 90-minute excursion into the subconscious of Poe, the tormented writer.
    In the play, Poe is defined by the women in his life: the mother who died when he was two years old, his cousin Virginia whom he married when she was only thirteen years old, Virginia’s mother who would not play mother to him, the sweetheart whose father kept her from him and the whore who could not please him. What works beautifully in Nevermore, is the text and quotations from Poe himself. Lines like “I looked for you in the eyes of whores” illuminate Poe’s fixation with his lost mother. In fact, the character Poe admits to his cousin-wife Virginia that, like the thirteen-year-old, he puts his mother first.
    What doesn’t work well in Nevermore is the opening and close. What happens during the first ten to fifteen minutes is frustratingly unclear while the end fades without an image or rousing musical number to complete the work. Furthermore, none of the sixteen songs have staying power, even those like “Evening Star” which is repeated multiple times. The music is pleasingly lyric, but also on the edge of familiar and each song blends blandly into the next.
    Although no one actor stands out above the others, the six-person cast Daniel Cooney (Edgar), Florence Lacey (Poe’s mother), Channez McQuay (Muddy, Virginia’s mother), Amy McWilliams (the Whore), Jacquelyn Piro (Elmira, Poe’s sweetheart), and Lauren Williams (Virginia) delivers his or her lines and songs with artistry and confidence. The costumes designed by Jenn Miller particularly distinguish each of the five women, especially Virginia whose main costume makes her look like Alice of Alice in Wonderland. The staging, sets (Eric Schaeffer with consultation from Derek McLane) and lighting (Mark Lanks) combine effectively in creating Poe’s nightmare terrain. One particularly interesting lighting effect occurs when the harpist (Susan Saurwein) who plays with the orchestra behind a scrim is lit up to accentuate a loss that Poe suffers.

    Washington, January 15, 2006                                              - Karren L. Alenier