A gripping new take on Poe's masterful story, this adaptation is set in 1930's Boston, where police detective Michael Shaughnessy is grilling his suspect, James Brookfield, about the mysterious fire that has engulfed the Usher Mansion, destroying the home, and killing its notorious owner, Roderick Usher. All the ghostly flavor and unbearable suspense of the original Poe story is here, packaged in classic American noir style. A play for adult audiences only. Read an excerpt HERE.
This script is available by contacting BAKER'S PLAYS/SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
"It says something about this story's appeal that we can know so much about what will happen and yet sit mesmerized, waiting for the horror to widen in the darkness. Neary re-imagines the story's settings and language, teasing out its conundrums of spirituality and existence. He keeps it interesting, and keeps the horror horrid, by lightening the play's many quick scenes (there are 40-odd short ones, movie-style) with humor, gallows and otherwise." Larry Parnass, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Massachusetts. Read an excerpt HERE.