PREVIEW: Literature and Libations: Poe Comes Alive at The Egg
8/28-29 @ The Egg, Albany
“We try our best to highlight the creepy genius that was Poe.”
“Once upon a midnight dreary” might be the most appropriate invitation to an evening at The Egg as we approach the spooky season.
From August 28–29, Edgar Allan Poe’s famously haunted imagination takes over Albany for the Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy, an immersive 90-minute cocktail experience that brings four of the author’s most recognizable stories off the page and onto the stage. For Creative Director Julia Tirinnanzi, the concept began with a simple affection for two things: “literature and libations.” As it turns out, plenty of people share her taste.
The experience, presented by Midnight Creative, transforms The Egg into a gothic sanctuary where Poe Historians guide audiences through “The Tell Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” “The Raven” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” Each story comes with its own cocktail, creating an evening where the literature is not merely something audiences hear. It is something they taste, see and experience.
The official event promises four themed cocktails paired with each of the four tales, including the Pale Blue Eye, The Cat’s Meow, the Nevermore and the Cocktail of the Red Death. Zero proof mocktails are also available upon request, making the experience accessible to guests who prefer not to drink alcohol.
But calling the Speakeasy a cocktail event undersells what audiences are walking into. The immersion begins before the first story. Actors greet guests already dressed in costume and fully in character. Even ordinary questions get a Poe inspired makeover. A printed ticket becomes “parchment.” Incense, haze and atmospheric lighting help transform the space before the performance even begins.
That commitment to atmosphere is important because Tirinnanzi does not want audiences simply watching Poe. She wants them transported. “I like to have people log off, put the phones down for 90 minutes and be transported to a different era,” she says.
That might be the perfect antidote to modern life. Instead of scrolling, audiences get to disappear into Poe’s universe for an evening, surrounded by theatrical haze, dramatic performances and cocktails that evolve with the stories.
The structure is deliberately fluid. Guests receive their first cocktail while settling into the atmosphere, then a narrator introduces some of the historical context surrounding Poe before the first performance begins. After the act, there is a brief intermission before the next cocktail arrives and the next chapter unfolds.
And the drinks themselves are not random.
Each venue works with its own mixologists to develop the cocktails, but the production generally leans toward vodka-based drinks while incorporating bourbon as a nod to Poe’s drinking preferences. Tirinnanzi says research into Poe’s favorite alcohol points toward brandy milk punch, making the cocktail menu another playful connection between the author and the experience.
For anyone whose introduction to Poe came through a middle school or high school English class, this is a considerably more lively way to revisit the material.
“It’s not just standing in place and reading,” Tirinnanzi says. “It’s much more lively than that.”
That's what makes the Speakeasy such a fun fit for Albany. Poe’s stories have survived for generations because they are wonderfully unsettling, but seeing them performed gives audiences another way into their strange, psychological worlds. The actors bring their own interpretations to the material, allowing familiar words to feel newly sinister.
“We try our best to pay homage and really highlight the creepy genius that was Poe,” Tirinnanzi says.
And Poe is apparently only the beginning. Midnight Creative has previously explored concepts involving Gothic authors the Brothers Grimm, and W.W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw.” Tirinnanzi also points to Bram Stoker as another favorite, suggesting there is plenty of dark literary territory left to explore. For now, though, Albany graciously gets Poe.
As summer winds down and the Capital Region begins its annual descent into Halloween season, The Egg offers something more atmospheric than a conventional night out. It is part theater, part literary celebration and part cocktail party, with just enough menace to make that drink in your hand feel slightly suspicious.
Most importantly, it is an excuse to put the phone away, gather with friends and let a great piece of literature become something you can actually experience.
“Being brought off the page and onto the stage” is how Tirinnanzi describes the philosophy behind the production. For 90 minutes, that page becomes a stage, the stage becomes Poe’s world and Halloween gets a little more sophisticated.
The Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy takes place August 28–29, at The Egg. The event is for guests 21 and older with valid identification. Mocktails are available upon request. To buy tickets, go to www.theegg.org/events/event/edgar-allan-poe-speakeasy-albany-ny/