The Southeast Ohio History Center will present a two-night History Mystery Night doubleheader honoring Edgar Allan Poe on Nov. 6 and 7 in Athens, pairing a live radio drama performance with a silent film accompanied on the grand organ, according to the SE Ohio Times.
Both evenings pay tribute to Poe through two interpretations of his short story “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The first part of each program is a live reading of the 1941 Inner Sanctum radio broadcast of the story, performed by the Actors’ Moveable Theater with organist Dennis James, the SE Ohio Times reported.
After a brief intermission, James will accompany the 1914 silent film “The Avenging Conscience,” which stars Henry B. Walthall and Blanche Sweet and was directed by D.W. Griffith, according to the SE Ohio Times. James, a nationally known theater organist, will perform on both nights.
The Friday, Nov. 6 program is a dinner theater-style event, with dinner provided by Purple Chopstix. Doors open at 5:15 p.m., dinner is served at 5:30 p.m. and the performance begins at 6 p.m., with beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages available, the SE Ohio Times reported.
Saturday, Nov. 7 is designated family night. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the performance starts at 6:30 p.m., with popcorn, movie snacks and non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase at the concession stand.
The Southeast Ohio History Center is located at 24 West State Street in Athens. The center can be reached at 740-592-2280 or through its website for more information about the performances, according to the SE Ohio Times.
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” first published in 1843, remains Poe’s most famous short story — a first-person confession by a narrator who insists on his sanity while describing a murder and the imagined beating of the victim’s heart beneath the floorboards. The 1941 Inner Sanctum broadcast brought the tale to radio audiences at the height of the medium’s golden age, and the History Center’s staging recreates that broadcast format live.
The doubleheader highlights the history center’s ongoing work to bring historical and cultural programming to the Athens community — in this case by reviving two early-20th-century entertainment forms, live radio drama and organ-accompanied silent film, around one of American literature’s most enduring tales of guilt and dread.
Photo: Jon Tandy, CC BY-SA