Our 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?
Poe Theatre on the Air is produced by The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre and distributed by WYPR.