The Southeast Ohio History Center will present an evening of History and Mystery on November 6 and 7 in Athens, pairing a live old-time radio performance with a silent film screening, both honoring Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Tell-Tale Heart. Both events take place at the History Center, 23 West State Street in Athens.
The first half of the program is a live reading of the 1941 Inner Sanctum Mysteries radio broadcast of The Tell-Tale Heart, performed by the Actors’ Moveable Theater with organist Dennis James. After a brief intermission, James will accompany the 1914 silent film The Avenging Conscience, starring Henry B. Walthall and Blanche Sweet and directed by D.W. Griffith, on the grand organ.
Friday, November 6, will be a dinner theater-style event, with dinner provided by Purple Chopstix. Saturday, November 7, is designated as family night, with popcorn and movie snacks available for purchase, making the double header an option for younger audiences as well as longtime Poe fans.
“The History Center is presenting an evening of History and Mystery as we welcome the inimitable organist Dennis James as we honor the work of Edgar Allan Poe with two interpretations of one of his most famous short stories, The Tell-Tale Heart,” the Southeast Ohio History Center said in announcing the program.
James is known for accompanying silent films live, recreating the way audiences first experienced movies more than a century ago, while the Actors’ Moveable Theater’s staged radio reading revives the Inner Sanctum broadcast tradition from 1941. Together, the two halves of the evening show how the same Poe story was retold for radio and for the silent screen.
The History Center, housed on West State Street in uptown Athens, is the home of the Athens County Historical Society and Museum and a regular host of exhibits and programs on the region’s past. A Poe mystery night extends that mission into literature and early film history for a fall weekend crowd.
For more information about the History Center or to purchase tickets for either night, the public can call 740-592-2280 or visit southeastohiohistory.org.
Photo: Km.tigerlily, CC BY-SA 3.0