Call "The Masque of the Red Death" uncannily timely. As the COVID- 19 Delta Variant continues to spread, Edgar Allen Poe's masterful 1842 story becomes a cautionary tale about a false sense of security among partygoers living in a kind of delusional bubble. Now Flat Earth Theatre has turned this "Masque" into what the inventive company calls "a radically collaborative virtual theater experience." The result does full justice to Poe's vivid gem as well as the scope of online fare.
As in Poe's story, a quirky duke named Prospero ( as controlling in his own way as Shakespeare's predecessor of the same name ) assures the guests at his castle-like abbey—referred to as 'The Manor"—that "You are safe here" and "We shall ride out the Red Death ('pestilence' in "Masque") together." In Poe's story, buffoons, improvisatori, ballet dancers , and musicians entertain the invited knights and dames. Similarly, Flat Earth has gifted regular company actress Juliet Bowler becoming a dynamic hosting duke who promises "something for everyone" in the title seven chambers. Here the color-coded rooms come to life in almost the same order as in the original story: blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet (for Poe, white and violet) and black & red.
In Flat Earth's collaborative conception, seven different playwrights provide the respective rooms' unusual scenarios. Talented aesthetic designer Michael Clark Wonson and sound designer Kyle Lampe capture the hues and haunting effects of the chambers. Cliff Odle's "Blue Room" opener deals with issues of race, identity and justice during a conflict over musical blues. MJ Halberstadt's "Purple Room" sharply dissects the strange behavior of unseen partygoers (even circle jerkers checking underwear) through the humorous observations of two coat check workers. A rush of tossed coats may call to mind the coats and bags Miranda Priestly drops on Andrea's desk in "The Devil Wears Prada." Michael Lin's "Green Room" speaks of a rescue craft called Athena and a 'quarantine position." Questions of survival are crucial here as 700 of the guests are ''gone.''
At this point Prospero appears to say that "We're in this to the bitter end." A kind of foreshadowing by costume—credit Zane Kealey for Prospero's blingy black outfit—precedes the first of the second trio of rooms—namely the "Orange Room," written by Hortense Gerardo. Here three friends allude to a past year of socially distanced isolation. While they toast repeatedly and employ puppets in a quest for truth and peace of mind, cryptic comments about the spirit of a peer named Moira add to this room's haunted ambiance. "Violet Room" by Sari Boren calls for transformation, while "White Room" by Kelly Smith looks at a search for self-acceptance.
The final and defining "Black and Red Room" (in Poe's story a red-lit and black sable-carpeted chamber) by Gabriel Graetz brings forth a mysterious figure who curiously alludes to two protagonists from other Poe stories—Ligeia from the tale of the same name and Fortunato from "The Cask of Amontillado." Tellingly a statement that some theatergoers may connect with the unvaccinated seems to warn "The Red Death does not discriminate."
Audiences are likely to connect with "Seven Rooms" as an ambitious and stunning achievement. All of the casts and individual directors deserve as much praise here as the playwrights. Even so, Bowler gives a tour de force performance as initially overconfident and ultimately vulnerable and humbled Prospero. Michael Lin proves a double threat as a playwright and quick-timing actor in "Purple Room" with equally sharp Kristen Heider. Miles Wheeler II has riveting edginess as the mystery figure of "Black and Red Room."
Poe's haunting tale evokes a rich tableau of inevitability. By contrast, Flat Theatre's "Seven Rooms" should lead to human change even as it entertains.