POST: Nevermore. Why not stick to the original story?
Photo by Joan Marcus
Personally, I am not a huge fan of biopics because I think they exaggerate the unimportant aspects of a person’s life and are too vague with the vital details. Biopics feel like a way to control how we (society) view certain celebrities and don't appear to be the most truthful. Like the TLC and Aaliyah movies that many of my friends and people my age saw. However, when it comes to theatre and biographical musicals/plays I enjoy these much more then biopic movies because on stage it feels like you can truly dive into the story.
A couple of days ago, Sherri and I went to go see Nevermore after it struck our curiosity with its advertisements all over the subway. Two things we didn’t realize about this show from looking at the posters: that it was about Edgar Allan Poe and that it was a musical. Sherri isn’t really a musical person so I could tell her disappointment when we sat down in the front row and the main character began to belt in his airy tenor voice. I like musicals and Edgar Allan Poe.
I didn’t mind the music too much because I was captivated by the whole technicality of the set and costumes. The show had a lot of theatrical tricks up it’s sleeve and I was so caught up with it being visually pleasing, that by intermission I realized I didn’t really have the slightest clue what was going on.
When I returned to my seat for the 2nd act, I began to focus in on the plot more. By the end, when I was leaving with Sherri (who was musically pooped) I realized my issue. Edgar Allan Poe is beginning to feel like Shakespeare, another topic that is soon going to get really exhausting. I noticed that sometimes the story of certain lives shouldn’t be tampered and twisted with. Why not stick to the original story, especially if its already captivating?
