Guest Blogger Performances Reviews
‘Poe & All That Jazz’
Posted by Tabitha Kenlon on Jul. 19, 2008, at 9:11 am

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/fringe/2008/07/19/guest-hip-shot-poe-all-that-jazz/

Poe & All That Jazz
Harman Center – The Forum

Remaining performances:
Saturday, July 19 @ Noon; Sunday, July 20 @ 8 PM

They say: “Helen Hayes Award-winning playwright Peter Coy explores undercurrents of abandonment in Poe’s tragic personal life, thinly veiled in art. Horrifying and humorous, ‘a delicious, confusing, delicate, sensual delight’; jazz, ghosts, poetry and song. A phantasmagoric ‘dream within a dream – none of this is real’ but it’s all true.”

Tabitha’s take: I don’t know if I should write a review or a term paper, but I was an English major, so it’s a happy conundrum. This is a little gem of a show. The concept of pairing standards with classics isn’t new, but Porter and Poe? Really? Well, yes. The songs are like punctuation marks, resulting from and driving the action while offering sly commentary.

What’s more, Poe is funny. Not all the time. If you want creepy Poe, you’ll get him, but the power of this piece is its emotional exploration. Here Poe is more than than a hollow-eyed tortured soul. He’s pitiful, pained, ebullient, cocky, angry, thoughtful – pretty human, actually. As Poe, Jon Cobb is riveting as he takes the audience through stories, poems, letters, and dreams. Equally mesmerizing is Patti Finn, who is the vocal part of all the jazz and plays the women in Poe’s life and work. They are aided flawlessly by Bob Bennetta on piano and Jim Ryan on bass. Together, the ensemble is thoroughly entertaining.

The play deliberately blurs the lines between dream and reality by transitioning invisibly from Poe’s life to his stories, so there may be a few confusing moments until you remember that no, Poe did not bury an ax in his wife’s head and build a brick wall around her, but that’s part of the fun.

I want to own, read, and mull this play. Oh, the discussions we could have about genius and madness, the school of psychological criticism, the layers of meanings behind the doll used in the production, and yes, there’s more, but I guess I’ll save it for the term paper.

See it if: You know a lot about Poe, or want to know more about Poe; heck, see it if you can spell Poe.

Skip it if: Thinking gives your brain an ouchie.

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Rory
July 21st, 2008
6:54 am
This show was awesome! The script, the use of the jazz standards, and especially the performances were outstanding. I loved it.

Dan
July 21st, 2008
9:25 am
WOW! I knew it was going to be a great show when Patti Finn entered the room. She was radiant inspite of her ghostly makeup, but a banshee she was not. This lady brought it to the Harman in a delicious way. Jon Cobb’s suprise entrance got things rolling, and boy did he deliver. He made Poe feel so entirely unabstract. I don’t know where in the hell Nellysford Virginia is, but I know it is lucky to have Hamner Theater. Bravo!

Marvin
July 21st, 2008
10:10 am
A truly remarkable performance all around. I am by no means a Poe aficionado however this script really entertains. I found myself having to go home and read up on some Poe to clarify the excellently blurred lines of Poe’s life, letters and writings but it was well worth it. The highlight of the show was definitely the synthesis of Poe’s poetry and jazz classic. The alternating poetic lines with timed musical lines was masterfully handled by Bennetta & Ryan which is by no means an easy feat.

Both performers managed to translate every emotion of Poe’s life/stories without the often obvious transitional character gaps found in stage theater. Both performed amazingly the eerie, witty, love-torn, nuances needed to pull off such a unique piece.

Bennetta and Ryan’s touch and depth of musical talent added tremendously to the overall experience. Quite obviously the performance hinged on the succesful integration of music into the whole and their sensitively adept performance was sublime – Never overbearing always enhancing.

note* Unfortunately for any performers in the venue of the Harman Center Forum room, your are most likely to be forced to listen to the only slightly muted sounds of the neighboring amateur opera. Its sad that this brand new (and otherwise wonderful facility) was not able to appropriately deal with acoustics between performance rooms.

SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2008
http://dustandcorruption.blogspot.com/2008/07/report-from-capital-fringe-festival.html
Report from the Capital Fringe Festival
Posted by Vagrarian
OK, it was a hot steamy day here in DC, so naturally I went out, sweating like a freakin' horse, to catch two plays in annual Capital Fringe Festival.

The Fringe Festival is similar to ones that run in places like Philadelphia or Edinburgh; performers and theatrical troupes set up in various out-of-the-way venues. It's actually a fun way of sampling the works of different groups and seeing some stuff you might ordinarily miss.

Today, the first play was Hamner Theater's quirky "Poe & All That Jazz" at the new Harman Center downtown.

I got there a tiny bit late, so I missed the very beginning, and it was somewhat odd going, but I finally got into it. Jon Cobb played Poe fairly well, but Patti Finn stole the show as a chameleonlike spirit who shifted identities to become various women from Poe's life and his art. The script explored the themes of loss and abandonment in Poe's works and how they reflect his troubled personal relationships. Now, it could have been most sombre, but it was leavened with sarcastic humor, and the music (classic jazz, mostly Cole Porter) at first seemed odd and incongruous but then suddenly became appropriate (and sometimes ironic). For instance, "In the Still of the Night" was interspersed with Poe writing "The Raven." And a scene with Poe encouraging his child-wife Virginia to sing is given a mordant twist when she sings "Love for Sale." It was all quite satisfying and Finn is a genuine talent, a great singer and an effective actress.

Two comments:

rosalind le conte said...
This piece is really something unexpected in a festival where you expect to find...well, the unexpected.

Yet, this show is more than just 'different" and judging from the talk it is an early buzz-worthy standout and should not be missed.

In Poe's words, "a delicious, confusing, delicate, sensual delight" clearly describes this work from playwright Peter Coy, Helen Hayes Award winner (New Play 2002) and co-artistic director of the Hamner Theater, Nellysford VA (www.hamnertheater.com)

Two remarkable young actors flesh out the tortured life, art and psyche of Edgar A. Poe and decorate the action with style and some tasty jazz to boot.

Jon Cobb as Poe brings humor and insight to a tough role and successfully illuminates the painful effect of his early emotional losses on the development of Poe's personal life and subsequently on his artistic works. Does it matter what the "state of the artist" is when he makes his art...? Should we consider 'art' only in terms of 'life'? Poe's statement is that 'it matter's not', but Cobb proves otherwise. His portrayal is sensitive and human--without the ghoulish stuff that would mire a lessor actor and he leaves you thinking...and laughing...an even maybe a little misty.

The program identifies the other actor as Patti Finn in the role of Eliza, but that billing doesn't quite cover it. Might be better to call her "All-that-Jazz" as the role requires her to constandly morph from Eliza, Poe's mother who apparently was a famous actress back in the day, into multiple other characters representing the women in his life and stories. She seems to effortlessly shape shift from one to the other and then another. She is powerful, tragic, innocent, provocative and an emotional tour de force.

As if that is not enough, Finn also knocks out a host of songs that somewhow logically seem part of the action and in general, kick ass. A live jazz combo of an old-school master pianist, Bob Bennetta and hip bass man, Jim Meyer really bring to life this unusual yet somehow vaguely logical musical connection between Poe and jazz.

Gotta see it to understand, but it works!

Bottom line--"Poe and All that Jazz" is a thoroughly enjoyble, thought provoking, humorous, smart and quite endearing theatrical event in the new Harmon Center Forum.

It is not to be missed.

JULY 14, 2008 9:28 AM

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Anonymous said...
I saw "Poe and All That Jazz" Saturday night at the Fringe Festival, and I have to say that it was really amazing. You owe it to yourself to see such a unique piece of drama and music. A unique and really terrific experience!! Great story, married with great music - And Patti Finn is outstanding! What entertainment.

JULY 15, 2008 11:32 AM

From DC Theatre Scene:

Poe and All that Jazz
by Miranda Hall
http://dctheatrescene.com/2008/07/14/poe-and-all-that-jazz/

If Poe and All that Jazz receives the zealous attention it deserves, then perhaps this holiday season a Poe-in-a-box will give Tickle-me-Elmo a run for its money. Let’s give it that chance – for the kids.
Riotous and arrestingly revelatory, the Hamner Theater’s latest creation will surprise the laughs out of you. Helen Hayes Award winning playwright Peter Coy’s masterful interpolation of Cole Porter and Edgar Allan Poe overflows with quirky pizzazz as he explores Poe’s relentlessly tragic love life and the writing it compels. Resilient in the face of Poe’s verbose morbidity and encouraged by Porter’s upbeat quips, Coy injects his script with a deluge of pithy retorts and zany choreography to complement expertly selected Poe passages.
Coy’s Poe has lost his memory. Thank goodness a beautiful woman with a sumptuously jazzy voice appears to help him recover it.
John Cobb as Poe approaches the script with the perspicacious dexterity of a Shakespeare veteran. This man really activates his words. Cobb penetrates the labyrinths of Poe’s heavy narratives with such an unwavering commitment to fresh discovery that each word emerges as if newly minted to his mind. Disoriented, dubious, and endearingly sincere, his Poe is entirely human and completely preoccupied with a single objective: fall in love with a girl who will stay alive.
Patti Finn assumes the title role of All That Jazz as she waltzes between stints as Poe’s mother, love interests, poetic muses, and musical diversions. As she embodies the staggering list of deceased family members and fiancées, she exerts enough oomph to send Poe running from the grave. Her wit attacks with shrewd accuracy. Even the onstage musicians are enthralled.
So look out, John Waters. Poe is joining Hairspray atop the cutthroat list of phantasmagorical musicals with unconventional Baltimore protagonists – complete with a black feather boa.
Running Time: 90 minutes
Tickets: Poe and All That Jazz
Remaining Shows: Wed, July 16 at 6:30 . Fri, July 18 at 8 . Sat, July 19 at noon . Sun, July 20 at 8
Where: Shakespeare Theatre’s Harman Center in the Forum . 610 F Street NW

Susan on Tue, 15th Jul 2008 11:27 am

Oh my God–Poe and All that Jazz-see it. It’s a ” must see” at the Fesitval. You will not be disappointed.

Julie Bonner on Mon, 14th Jul 2008 7:31 pm

I went to see this piece based on the recommendations from the Fringe aficionados both here at DC Theatre Scene and the Washington Post’s Going out Gurus who said “Poe and All that Jazz” promised to be one of the ‘must see” Fringe offerings.
And fulfill that promise it does!
Helen Hayes Award winning playwright, Peter Coy, also directs this production from his Hamner Theater in Nellysford, VA–outside of Charlottesville. His craft, blending what must have been intricate research is clear.
Can art be considered without context? Poe asks and answers this question stating that ‘it matter’s not the condition of the poet’, but Mr. Coy’s work sensitively proves otherwise.
Two remarkable young actors flesh out the tortured life, art and psyche of Edgar A. Poe. The production features a masterful jazz combo and unconventional direction to weave 90 minutes of clowning theatrics, psychological drama, dry humor, jazz standards, and raw sexuality.
It is a dream? Is it hell? Is it his life passing before his eyes? Who cares! It is fantastic!
Jon Cobb, as Poe, embodies the iconic poet and successfully illuminates the development of Poe’s personal life’s effect on his artistic work. The mental and physical gymnastics of this role and his execution of this task is top drawer.
His portrayal is so authentically human and clearly links Poe’s loss of his parents as fundamental to the development of his character and the art work he produced. Heroically, Mr. Cobb bypasses the obvious trap to merely represent Poe as a Vincent Price-ish ghoul. Any fan of the poet will be thrilled as Mr. Cobb leaves you thinking…and laughing…an even maybe a little misty about the permeable boundary between the man and his art.
Patti Finn seems to effortlessly navigate an endless array of women from his life and work. She is captivating and skillful in a uniquely demanding role–a role to which she is so well suited one wonders if it had been written for her! Ms. Finn manages eight fully realized characters—sometimes shifting from one to another within a breath, or with as little as a turn of a head or a gesture of the hand.
As if that is not enough, Ms. Finn, as Eliza, Poe’s mother who apparently was a well-known actress back in the day, also kicks ass as a torch singer, knocking out a host of jazz standards that are intricated into the action. A old-school jazz duo, Bob Bennetta, piano and Jim Meyer, double bass, really bring to life this unusual, yet wierdly logical musical connection between Poe and jazz.
No matter how you think you feel about Poe, you will find this work illuminating new angles of his life, the psychology of attachment and loss in the enduring work of a tortured genius.
I think it lives up to the buzz. It is at once delightfully funny, poignant, shocking, and macabre.
A must-see of the Festival.

Two comments left on Washington Post article "Fringe Must-sees", by Stephanie Merry | July 11, 2008; 12:46 PM ET

(A list of seven suggested shows, including:
...Peter Coy, a Helen Hayes Award winner, brings us "Poe and All the Jazz," which explores the tortured life, visions and poetry of Edgar Allen Poe.)

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus/2008/07/what_to_see_at_fringe.html

I went to see this piece based on the recommendations from the Fringe aficionados who said "Poe and All that Jazz" promised to be one of the 'must see" Fringe offerings.

And fulfill that promise it does!

Helen Hayes Award winning playwright, Peter Coy, also directs this production from his Hamner Theater in Nellysford, VA-outside of Charlottesville. His craft, blending what must have been intricate research is clear.

Can art be considered without context? Poe asks and answers this question stating that 'it matter's not the condition of the poet', but Mr. Coy's work sensitively proves otherwise.

Two remarkable young actors flesh out the tortured life, art and psyche of Edgar A. Poe. The production features a masterful jazz combo and unconventional direction to weave 90 minutes of clowning theatrics, psychological drama, dry humor, jazz standards, and raw sexuality.

It is a dream? Is it hell? Is it his life passing before his eyes? Who cares! It is fantastic!

Jon Cobb, as Poe, embodies the iconic poet and successfully illuminates the development of Poe's personal life's effect on his artistic work. The mental and physical gymnastics of this role and his execution of this task is top drawer.

His portrayal is so authentically human and clearly links Poe's loss of his parents as fundamental to the development of his character and the art work he produced. Heroically, Mr. Cobb bypasses the obvious trap to merely represent Poe as a Vincent Price-ish ghoul. Any fan of the poet will be thrilled as Mr. Cobb leaves you thinking...and laughing...an even maybe a little misty about the permeable boundary between the man and his art.

Patti Finn seems to effortlessly navigate an endless array of women from his life and work. She is captivating and skillful in a uniquely demanding role-a role to which she is so well suited I have to wonder if it was written for her! Ms. Finn manages eight fully realized characters--sometimes shifting from one to another within a breath, or with as little as a turn of a head or a gesture of the hand.

As if that is not enough, Ms. Finn, as Eliza, Poe's mother who apparently was a well-known actress back in the day, also tears up the stage as a torch singer, knocking out a host of jazz standards that are intricated into the action. A old-school jazz duo, Bob Bennetta, piano and Jim Meyer, double bass, really bring to life this unusual, yet wierdly logical musical connection between Poe and jazz.

No matter how you think you feel about Poe, you will find this work identifies the untold influences on his work, uniquely explores the psychology of attachment/loss and illuminates the enduring work of a tortured genius.

I think it absolutely lives up to the buzz. It is at once delightfully funny, poignant, shocking, and macabre.

It is clearly, a must-see of the Festival.

Posted by: Julie Bonner | July 14, 2008 7:49 PM | Report abuse

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A truly remarkable performance all around. I am by no means a Poe aficionado however this script really entertains. I found myself having to go home and read up on some Poe to clarify the excellently blurred lines of Poe's life, letters and writings but it was well worth it. The highlight of the show was definitely the synthesis of Poe's poetry and jazz classic. The alternating poetic lines with timed musical lines was masterfully handled by Bennetta & Ryan which is by no means an easy feat.

Both performers managed to translate every emotion of Poe's life/stories without the often obvious transitional character gaps found in stage theater. Both performed amazingly the eerie, witty, love-torn, nuances needed to pull off such a unique piece.

Bennetta and Ryan's touch and depth of musical talent added tremendously to the overall experience. Quite obviously the performance hinged on the succesful integration of music into the whole and their sensitively adept performance was sublime - Never overbearing always enhancing.

note* Unfortunately for any performers in the venue of the Harman Center Forum room, your are most likely to be forced to listen to the only slightly muted sounds of the neighboring amateur opera. Its sad that this brand new (and otherwise wonderful facility) was not able to appropriately deal with acoustics between performance rooms.

Posted by: Marvin | July 21, 2008 10:32 AM | Report abuse