Cape Noir Presents Live Performances Of Poe Classics

As Halloween approaches, there are opportunities throughout Cape Cod to get in the spooky spirit. One of those chances can be found, in the coming days, at Snow Library in Orleans. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. the library will host Cape Noir Radio LIVE! with a special presentation of “The Raven” and “The Untold Tell Tale Heart” featuring Bill Salem and J Hagenbuckle. The performances are adapted from classic Edgar Allan Poe short stories and are directed by and feature an original score from Hagenbuckle.

October adds to the experience of hearing these stories, Hagenbuckle said.

“Certainly, October and Halloween carry a theatrical atmosphere with them, especially reveling in the darker side of humanity,” said Hagenbuckle. “These two stories of Poe's are classics, with ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ being a masterpiece of madness, guilt and horror, and ‘The Raven’ is far more than just ‘a midnight dreary.’”

The show will open with a solo performance of “The Raven” by Salem. Hagenbuckle said that it’s been a pleasure to work with Salem, remarking that he “brings tremendous depth and insight” to his performance and that he “skillfully explores, expresses and reveals the rich meaning in every word and every verse.” 

Afterwards, the show transitions to the live performance of “The Untold Tell Tale Heart,” which was originally featured on Cape Noir radio in episode six of season one. Within the piece, Salem plays the victim and Hagenbuckle plays the murderer. In “The Untold Tell Tale Heart,” Hagenbuckle adapts the piece to have the old man tell the story to the murderer, adding a unique layer of suspense.

This will be the third live event Hagenbuckle has held at Snow Library. He’s also held one at the Provincetown Library. He pointed out that the libraries are a “perfect setting” for events like these.

“They are intimate, connection with the audience is visceral, and our talkbacks afterwards are insightful,” said Hagenbuckle. 

First experiencing Poe in his youth from comics and movies and through the literature that the author produced, Hagenbuckle specifically noted that Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue” is considered to be the first detective story and that he is “a huge fan of the genre.” Those experiences were buoyed through his career as a theater composer and sound designer as he has had the opportunity to score Gip Hoppe’s adaptation of “The Fall of the House of Usher” at the Academy Playhouse and Eric Hill’s play “Poe” at the Berkshire Theater Festival. 

The first episode of Cape Noir Radio was released in September 2020 and the show is broadcast on WOMR 92.1 FM and WFMR 91.3 FM – they can also be streamed on WOMR.org. According to Hagenbuckle, they aren’t all just spooky stories.

“Cape Noir episodes come in a variety of styles and genres, not just suspense and thrillers,” said Hagenbuckle. “The stories begin with an idea that I explore as I write the scripts. Achieving a satisfying story arc in less than 30 minutes takes part intuition, part being open to one idea or one line of dialogue suggesting another, and part writing technique as to how a story needs to move forward. The scripts also evolve when the actors are brought in and I hear what it sounds like with the character voices together continuing the process through the recording phase.” 

“The Untold Tell Tale Heart” is one of 30 episodes that he has been able to construct. He explained that the series arose as a result of COVID shutting down theaters back in 2020, and it’s meaningful to him for a variety of reasons. 

“It’s all about sound, from the voices to the sound effects and music. But it also gives me the opportunity to write, act and direct,” he said.

Cape Noir Radio has been on hiatus from its bi-monthly broadcast/streaming schedule for the past year, but that doesn’t mean the project is over. Hagenbuckle has been working on new episodes for season three, which he said he hopes will return in December or January. While the episodes can take a good amount of time to develop, Hagenbuckle noted that he has three finished for the upcoming season and one in rehearsal, and that the event at Snow Library will be a new episode unto itself. He emphasized how much gratitude he felt when talking about the upcoming season.

“I'm so grateful to John Braden and Matthew Dunn from WOMR radio in Provincetown for their generous support of me and the show,” said Hagenbuckle.

Snow Library is at 67 Main Street in Orleans. Admission is free and open to the public.