Awake At Night: Modern Takes On Stories Of Edgar Allan Poe

"A far cry from the traditional split screen ... the actors appear to pass wine goblets to one another flawlessly, sway together, and more."

David Alpern, Editor/Writer

High Tech Halloween Horror

"... a combination of gifted writing, intense professional acting, all wrapped up in an innovative, flawless technological online presentation."

T.J. Clemente, Hamptons.com

Bay Street's "Awake At Night" Is Both An Artistic and Technological Success

AWAKE AT NIGHT is a theatrical adaptation of three stories by Edgar Allan Poe (The Cask of Amontillado, Ligeia, and The Fall of the House of Usher) that celebrate Poe’s gift for the unnerving and strange, while re-imagining his tales in contemporary settings. A delicious and fresh re-telling of these classic stories of Gothic horror, AWAKE AT NIGHT is a world premiere presentation and Bay Street Theater’s latest online offering.

In the first story, a tale of revenge is moved from 19th-century Venice to 21st-century Napa Valley. In the next a wealthy nobleman, with a strange tale about his dead wife, is now a professor in a college-town bar, bearing his soul to a young colleague. And in the final story, a crumbling manor in the English countryside becomes an ill-kept brownstone in the East Village, where a young man revisits his old boarding school classmate and encounters much more than he expects...

Written and directed by Will Pomerantz, and featuring a superb cast of seven versatile actors—Ari Brand, Daniel Gerroll, Loren Lester, Michael Levi Harris, Kevin Orton, Chauncy Thomas and Teal Wicks—AWAKE AT NIGHT promises to be a Halloween treat that will delight and send shivers down your spine, reminding us why Edgar Allan Poe remains one the world’s best-known writers of horror.

Runtime: 75 minutes. Intended for kids ages 14 and up and adults.

On-Demand Tickets are Now On Sale For Each Episode!

A Case of Romanee Conti (The Cask of Amontillado)

Through My Flesh... (Ligeia)

812 East 9th Street (The Fall of the House of Usher)

Will Pomerantz is a writer and director who has developed new plays and musicals with such theaters as American Repertory Theatre, 2nd Stage, The Guthrie, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theatre, Hartford Stage, and the New York Theater Workshop. He became the first American director to be invited to direct for the National Theatre of Poland, and his production of Cinders by Janusz Glowacki was performed as part of their repertory for four years. His own scripts for the plays and musicals, This Side of Paradise, For The Last Time and About Love have been produced in New York and regionally.

Bay Street audiences will recognize Ari Brand from his role as Joe in the 2016 Mainstage production of The Last Night of Ballyhoo. His Broadway credits include The Neil Simon Plays; Off-Broadway credits include My Name is Asher Lev, The Lucky One, Romeo and Juliet, and Much Ado About Nothing. He has performed with theaters around the country, including Geffen Playhouse Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, and Long Wharf Theatre. Television and film credits include Fosse/Verdon; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; The Other Two; FBI; White Collar; To The Flame; and Listen.

Daniel Gerroll is happy to do anything at or for Bay Street Theater. His first appearance at Bay Street was in Accomplice in 2001 followed by Blithe Spirit, No Time For Comedy, Dinner, Dissonance, and, most recently, Frost/Nixon. Broadway credits include Plenty, High Society, and Enchanted April. He has appeared in many plays Off-Broadway, and some regional credits include the role of Salieri in Amadeus and most recently Skylight at ACT in Seattle. Last year he presented a solo piece, Dr Glas, at the Solo Flights festival in Aspen.

Michael Levi Harris has appeared in the Off-Broadway productions of The Puschart Peddlers at the New York Theatre Foundation and The Bad Date Project at 34 Bleecker Street. Regional credits include Fifty Million Frenchman at the Medicine Show Theater. In London, he appeared in Dealer’s Choice at Milton Court Theatre and Lulu at the Silk Street Theatre. Film and television credits include Listen, Naked Singularity, Endeavour, Patrick Melrose, Devs, and World on Fire. He recently wrote and starred in the short film The Hyperglot, directed by Michael Urie, and will play the lead role in the New York Theatre Foundation's 2021 production of The Tenth Man.

Loren Lester moved from Los Angeles to New York in 2018 and was almost immediately cast in the National Tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Band’s Visit, with which he toured until earlier this year. His more than 200 television credits include The Orville, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and three seasons on the HBO comedy series Hung. Film credits include Wes Craven’s Red Eye and the cult classic Rock ‘N’ Roll High School. He has performed in dozens of plays and musicals in Los Angeles, including Fallen Angels at the Pasadena Playhouse, and Nancy Meckler’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has had a large following in the animation world as the voice of Robin and Nightwing in the iconic Batman: The Animated Series. Loren is married to singer/actress Kelly Lester and together they have three actress-daughters.

Juilliard-trained actor Kevin Orton has appeared in the Broadway production of Amadeus, directed by Sir Peter Hall. Additional credits include Merry Wives of Windsor with the New York Stage and Film; The Workroom and Prince Hal with Public Theatre; Edison’s Elephant with Metropolitan Playhouse; and The Rivals, Henry V, and The Tempest with New York Classical Theatre. Regional credits include Summerscape’s Uncle Vanya with Peter Dinklage; and performances with Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Baltimore Center Stage, and others. Film and television credits include One Take, Wu Tang: American Saga, Blacklist, FBI: Most Wanted, Law & Order, and Darwin.

Chauncy Thomas is a New York-based actor who Bay Street Theater audiences will recognize from the 2015 production of Of Mice and Men and the 2019 Literature Live! production of A Raisin in the Sun. He received BAs in Acting and Psychology from Washington University. Recent credits include Othello (Shakespeare Festival St. Louis), Topdog/Underdog (St. Louis Actors’ Studio), Clybourne Park (St. Louis Rep), Jackie and Me (First Stage Children’s Theatre), The Winter’s Tale (Mustard Seed Theatre), and several productions at the The Black Rep including The Piano Lesson and The Real McCoy. Television and film credits include Così, Madam Secretary, and Marshall’s Miracle.

Teal Wicks is celebrated by Bay Street’s audience as originator of the title role in the 2011 Mainstage world premiere of Turandot, and also made an appearance in Bay Street’s 29th annual virtual Starry Night Gala Telethon. Recently, she created the role of Lady in the new Broadway musical The Cher Show as well as Mary Barrie in Finding Neverland and Emma Carew in the revival of Jekyll & Hyde. She made her Broadway debut as Elphaba in Wicked after playing the role to critical acclaim in the Los Angeles and San Francisco companies. She has starred in the Off-Broadway productions of The Blue Flower (Second Stage), Stairway to Paradise (City Center Encores), the world premieres of Piece Of My Heart: the Bert Berns Story (Signature Theatre) and Fahrenheit 451 (59E59). Regional credits include The Ballad of Little Jo (Two River Theatre), Life of the Party (Theatreworks), The Blue Flower (A.R.T.), and Carousel (Goodspeed).

We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions:

ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION

AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS

AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS

SAG-AFTRA

through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program.