Poe Theatre on the Air
WYPR Baltimore
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Part radio drama, part podcast, and all Edgar Allan Poe. A new spine-tingling play for your ears every month, adapted from America’s most famous horror and suspense writer. Gothic frights, by The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre.
Available episodes
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May 19, 2021
"The Bells," read by Helen Atkinson Wood
In this episode we celebrate the anniversary of Poe’s well-known poem “The Bells,” written in May 1848 and published posthumously in 1849. The Bells describes the cycle of adult life, from excitement to joy, to fear and ultimately to the sorrow and somberness of death.
Our celebration today features a performance from Baltimore’s Charm City Bronze Handbell Ensemble, and concludes with a very special reading of the The Bells by the renowned British actor Helen Atkinson Wood.
Founded in 2013 by Artistic Director Beau Lochte, the Charm City Bronze Handbell Ensemble’s arrangement of Erik Satie’s "Gymnopedie Number 1" features a distinctive sound of bells ringing then being submerged in bowls filled with water, creating a dizzying "bending" of the pitch.
Our featured performance is a reading of The Bells by noted British actor Helen Atkinson Wood. Ms. Wood is an actor and presenter best known for creating the character of Mrs. Miggins, in the classic BBC comedy “Blackadder.”
A West End stage actor and presenter as well, Helen Atkinson Wood has been twice nominated by the British Comedy Awards as Best Female Comedy Performer. She is also an award-winning travel writer.
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Mar 26, 2021
The System Of Doctor Goudron And Professor Plume
Season One Finale! This story has been adapted into several international motion pictures (including one as recently as 2008), and was the musical subject of the world-famous progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project. It is widely applauded as among the first works in American fiction to criticize the poor treatment of the mentally ill in the 1800s. As one of Poe’s best-known satirical efforts, the original story is available unedited in audiobook form on a wide range of digital platforms around the world.
In 1903, The Theatre du Grand Guignol in Paris produced a gruesome black comedy adaptation of this famous and noteworthy Edgar Allan Poe story, which the author titled, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether. The stage play was known in France as The System of Doctor Goudron and Professor Plume. We’ve translated this play from the original French, and adapted it specifically for audio drama (the original title is retained in this recording.)
We’ve called back some of our past season’s asylum characters in this one. Can you identify the episodes and any lines from those earlier programs?
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Feb 3, 2021
The Fall of the House of Usher, Part Two
Madeleine Usher is alive, after all. In this episode, we listen back to the story of how she was mistakenly entombed, and how that was the beginning of the end for the Ushers and their ancestral home. Also, Doctor Mallard meets a stranger interested in learning more about the asylum. Only one more episode before this season comes to an end!
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Jan 5, 2021
The Fall of the House of Usher, Part One
Summoned to the aid of an old college friend, our protagonist embarks on a journey to a mysterious ancestral home and encounters not only the unfortunate friend but his frail and ghost-like sister.
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Nov 25, 2020
Hop Frog
Intrigue, revenge and death in the Royal Court! First published in 1849, the year of Poe’s death, this story has been adapted numerous times, including having been sung by David Bowie in Lou Reed’s album “The Raven.” In this adaptation, we take a melodramatic and fantastic look at this most unlikely love affair.
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Oct 29, 2020
Never Bet the Devil Your Head, Part Two
Happy Halloween! In the conclusion of this two-part series, the Author and Toby Dammit stumble upon a mysterious little man in a covered bridge. Toby cannot resist demonstrating his “athletic prowess” to the man, but the results are not quite what he (repeatedly) bargained for. Part Two of a rare comedic story from Edgar Allan Poe.
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Oct 2, 2020
Never Bet the Devil Your Head, Part One
Toby Dammit was a man of questionable moral fiber. Coming home from a pub one night, he learns the consequences of a life of excess, and his trademark saying gets put to the ultimate test. Part One in a two-part adaptation of one of Poe’s few comedic stories
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Sep 1, 2020
Poe Theatre On The Air - Edgar Allan, Part Two
In this second episode of our guest production “Edgar Allan” by The Coldharts,
Edgar and his nemesis have the first meeting of their secret society. Edgar reveals a terrible secret, and immediately regrets his decision. Mallard and company return in October!
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Aug 3, 2020
Poe Theatre On The Air - Edgar Allan, Part One
We take a brief holiday from Dr. Mallard and his patients with this very special two-part guest production of “Edgar Allan,” from The Coldharts. This new musical is a reimagining of Poe’s childhood days, combined with an adaptation of his short story “William Wilson.” Mallard and company return in October!
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Jul 2, 2020
Poe Theatre On The Air - Eldorado
A man, found wandering in the desert, tells a harrowing tale of his failed efforts to find the fabled City of Gold with his eccentric partner. But what is the secret he can’t bear to admit?
Adapted from Poe's well-known poem.
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Jun 2, 2020
Poe Theatre On The Air - The Premature Burial
Of the many fears that plague humankind, claustrophobia and the unrelenting terror of being entombed alive may be the worst. In this episode, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre on the Air recounts one woman’s fate - and provides an unsettling look at Dr. Mallard’s more cruel side.
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May 1, 2020
Poe Theatre on The Air - The Raven
Wear your headphones as we play with high and low frequencies and ASMR tricks to make you uncomfortable. Poe’s famous poem about love, lost hope, obsession and tragedy gets a dramatic retelling and an extra-unsettling listening experience.
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Apr 1, 2020
Poe Theatre On The Air - A Descent into the Maelstrom
They say a life at sea changes a man, but this story takes that to the extreme. In this episode, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre on the Air takes on Poe’s tale of tragedy at sea, and the physical toll on those who survive the clutches of a near-mythical storm.
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Mar 2, 2020
Poe Theatre on the Air - The Oval Portrait
When obsession meets the creative impulse, it becomes almost impossible to know when to stop. Art should imitate life, not death. Meanwhile, it’s becoming clear that the kindly Dr. Mallard has somewhat of a mean streak in him.
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Feb 5, 2020
Poe Theatre on The Air - The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
What if a person is hypnotized at the moment of death? The horrifying consequences of cheating the Reaper are unraveled in a story that readers during Poe’s time were afraid had actually happened.
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Jan 8, 2020
Poe Theatre on the Air - A Predicament
There’s always a price to be paid for arrogance. In one of Poe’s very few comedic short stories, a woman loses her head waiting for the time to come…
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Dec 5, 2019
Poe Theatre on the Air - Berenice
Love truly hurts. A beautiful woman, in love with her bookish and obsessive cousin, has a smile to die for. As the woman falls ill, her smile is all that’s left unchanged. Her cousin can’t bear it and takes matters into his own hands.
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Oct 30, 2019
Poe Theatre on the Air - The Cask of Amontillado
Insulted once too often by a vain and pompous ----friend,---- a man lures his victim to the catacombs beneath his home with the promise of a rare bottle of wine. Too late, the friend pays the ultimate price for not being more polite...
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Oct 4, 2019
Poe Theatre on the Air - Morella
A man's love for his scholarly wife fades as her fascination turns to morbid themes. On her deathbed, she gives birth and curses the man to ensure that he will never be freed from her memory.
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Sep 9, 2019
Poe Theatre on the Air - The Black Cat
A man brings home a cat for his animal-loving wife, to replace a cherished pet. When the new family addition becomes too annoying for the man, it leads to a dark secret that the cat reveals at the worst possible time – for the man.
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Aug 5, 2019
Poe Theatre On The Air - The Tell-Tale Heart
A housekeeper takes a job caring for an old man, and it seems like a dream for them both. But the dream becomes a nightmare when the housekeeper’s obsession with the man turns deadly – with a truly heart-pounding ending.
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