| Reviews
“John Astin brings a soulful pathos to the tragic tale of Poe.” - Philip Brandis, Los Angeles Times - read full review
“A marvelous and dazzling performance! A must-see show that will haunt
you long after fhe final curtain drops.” - Betty Mohr, Chicago Daily
Southtown
“Marvelous! John Astin delivers a rich, moving, multilayered portrait
of Edgar Allan Poe.” - Jack Helbig, Chicago Daily Herald
“A great evening in the theatre. John Astin touches all the emotions
in this dynamic portrayal of Edgar Allan Poe.” - Bill Zwecker, Chicago
Sun Times / NBC
“A winner! Astin works wonders! ...delivers some powerful demons and
some equally potent humor... full of anger, hubris, humor and poetry.”
- Joan Bunke, Des Moines Register
“John Astin uncorks the beauty of the man and the magic of his work...
It's the measure of this veteran actor's skill that he can portray this
often tortured man, so heartbreakingly rejected, with so much dignity,
humanity, and humor. The overall mood of the piece is enhanced by an austere
set, superb lighting, dramatic background slide projections and muted music.”
- Jean Reed, Pelican Press
“John Astin couldn't be more perfect! Touching, funny... every bit the
Edgar Allan Poe I was hoping for.” - Dean Richards, WGN Radio
“Astin is a marvel! A wildly enticing performance." - Jeff Rossen,
Gay Chicago
“John Astin is magnificent!” - Irv Kupcinet, Chicago Sun Times
“Astin... is illuminating!” - Richard Christiansen, Chicago Tribune
“ He plays each Poe with grace, intelligence and wit.” - Jack Helbig,
Chicago Daily Herald
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Once Upon a Midnight
starring John Astin
“In Once Upon a Midnight, a one-man play starring John Astin, audience
can find a new appreciation of a poet and novelist whose dark, brooding
writing has grown increasingly popular with time... To hear portions of
Poe's writings within the context of his life story only increases the
beauty of his words. Written by Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid, Once Upon
a Midnight combines biography with Poe's own words in such a seamless style
that while we're listening to the tragic tales of his youth, we're suddenly
immersed in an excerpt from a poem or story, reflecting the passion that
generated the words. Astin... creates a fascinating picture of this troubled
writer.” - Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“In this subtly-woven one-man show...{John Astin] appears as Edgar Allan
Poe, the tormented genius-poet and master of horror.... Thanks to Astin
and scripting by playwrights Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid, you get not
so much an impersonation of the 19th-century American poet as an interpretation
of how Poe's life and work were linked in a bloody, tragic lock step...
Mot of all, Poe was a master of moods, and it is with moods that this production
excels... Astin's delivery of Poe's hypnotic words gives you the full power
of his ideas.” - Joanne Milani, The Tampa Tribune
“Astin is astonishing as Poe and well deserved the cheering, standing
ovation he received. His timing is impeccable and his technique is rock-solid.
He is funny, touching, romantic and deeply stirring... Director Alan Bergmann's
work matches the brilliance of the script and his staging is outstanding....
Every true theater patron and student of drama will want to see this stunning
performance by John Astin.” - Kenneth Blount, Venice Gondolier
“It's a testament to Clemens' and Magid's gifts as playwrights that
they manage to convey the facts of Poe's life without descending into a
maelstrom of melodrama and pity. Even when covering the best-known features
of Poe's life... they manage to find new ways to tell Poe's story... When
Poe's life is clearly unraveling, they use selections from Poe's obscure,
inspired but cracked philosophical treatise, Eureka, which seems to anticipate
Einstein's theory of the space-time continuum... Astin really knows his
way around a stage... No untrained actor could speak Poe's sometimes difficult
19th century prose with such clarity and auhority. And only an actor comfortable
with Shakespeare could perform Poe's poetry without falling into the sing-song
style that made Poe so easy to ridicule, even in his own day... Astin has
a great comic timing... More impressive still, Astin completely transforms
himself into Poe... Astin gives us nothing but Poe - Poe the poet, Poe
the visionary, Poe the pathetic.” - Jack Helbig, Daily Herald
“Poe's life as portrayed by John Astin in this one-man show will draw
you in and hold you mesmerized for its two hours by both the intriguing
history of the man and Astin's remarkably textured and wildly enticing
performance... The script liberally and seamlessly interweaves Poe's writings
with the text of the story, and director Alan Bergmann guides Astin through
it with a gentle touch... Superbly lit by Todd Hensley (based on his design
with Duane Schuler)... We don't need to see trees and flowers on the wall;
Astin can make us see them in our minds. The power of his performance and
the authors' text is more than enough.” - Jeff Rossen, Gay Chicago
“This drama by playwrights Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid reveal Poe's
enormous depth of wry humor, ironic wit and cutting-edge atire. Astin does
a masterful job delivering the many sharp retorts, ironic remarks and crusty
puns that make this show very funny.” - Betty Mohr, Chicago Daily Southtown
“Astin slides into the role as if it were a well-worn cloak. His sad-eyed, soulful first-person address brings pathos to this well-researched tale of Poe's tragic life, co-written by Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid.
Rescuing Poe's reputation as a dissolute drunkard, Astin reveals a deeply passionate artist and luminous intellect undone by his inability to master the mundane logistics of survival.” - Philip Brandis, Los Angeles Times
- read the full LA Times review