'Awake At Night' Brings Poe To Life

Bay Street Theater is pleased to announce the premiere of “Awake at Night,” a virtual reading of modern takes on stories by Edgar Allan Poe, adapted by Bay Street’s associate artistic director Will Pomerantz, on Tuesday, October 20, at 8 p.m. at baystreet.org. A live talkback between Pomerantz and the cast, moderated by artistic director, Scott Schwartz, will be held following the premiere via Zoom. Tickets for this virtual thriller and live talkback are $20 per household.

“Awake at Night” celebrates the Halloween season by reimagining three iconic thrillers by American romanticist Edgar Allan Poe, placing them in a modern settings. The result is an evening of frightening fun as we bear witness to tales of suspense and horror. Each work has been adapted for the stage by Pomerantz. Making appearances across the three plays will be six actors from the stage and screen: Ari Brand, Daniel Gerroll, Loren Lester, Michael Levi Harris, Kevin Orton and Teal Wicks.

In “A Case of Romanee Conti,” we follow a young programmer who runs into an old boss while visiting a vineyard; in “Through My Flesh …”, a soon-to-be-retired professor elucidates a mysterious and tragic experience in Istanbul many years ago; and in “812 East 9th Street,” a young man records his shocking visit with an old friend.

Pomerantz is a writer and director who has developed new plays and musicals with such theaters as American Repertory Theatre, 2nd Stage, The Guthrie, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theatre, Hartford Stage, and the New York Theater Workshop. He became the first American director to be invited to direct for the National Theatre of Poland, and his production of “Cinders” by Janusz Glowacki was performed as part of their repertory for four years. His own scripts for the plays and musicals, “This Side of Paradise,” “For The Last Time” and “About Love” have been produced in New York and regionally.

Bay Street audiences will recognize Ari Brand from his role as Joe in the 2016 Mainstage production of “The Last Night of Ballyhoo.” His Broadway credits include “The Neil Simon Plays.”

Daniel Gerroll is happy to do anything at or for Bay Street Theater. His first appearance at Bay Street was in “Accomplice” in 2001 followed by “Blithe Spirit,” “No Time For Comedy,” “Dinner,” “Dissonance” and, most recently, “Frost/Nixon.” Broadway credits include “Plenty,” “High Society” and “Enchanted April.”

Michael Levi Harris has appeared in regional productions as well as the Off-Broadway productions of “The Pushcart Peddlers” at the New York Theatre Foundation and “The Bad Date Project” at 34 Bleecker Street.

Loren Lester moved from Los Angeles to New York in 2018 and was almost immediately cast in the National Tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “The Band’s Visit,” with which he toured until earlier this year. His more than 200 television credits include “The Orville,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and three seasons on the HBO comedy series “Hung.”

Juilliard-trained actor Kevin Orton has appeared in the Broadway production of “Amadeus,” directed by Sir Peter Hall. Additional credits include “Merry Wives of Windsor” with the New York Stage and Film; “The Workroom” and “Prince Hal” with Public Theatre.

Teal Wicks is celebrated by Bay Street’s audience as originator of the title role in the 2011 Mainstage world premiere of “Turandot,” and also made in appearance in Bay Street’s 29th annual virtual Starry Night Gala Telethon. Recently, she created the role of Lady in the new Broadway musical “The Cher Show” as well as Mary Barrie in “Finding Neverland” and Emma Carew in the revival of “Jekyll & Hyde.” She made her Broadway debut as Elphaba in “Wicked” after playing the role to critical acclaim in the Los Angeles and San Francisco companies.

A live talkback between Pomerantz and the cast will be held following the premiere via Zoom. Tickets for the prerecorded telecast and live talkback are $30. Following the premiere, the entire evening will be available on-demand through the end of the year for $10.