By Shelly Latshaw

Senior Reporter

It’s a dark and stormy night, a woman wanders along an ink-black path lined with perverse twisted trees; their branches hung like lifeless limbs on a corpse.

In the distance, the woman sees a faint glow set among indistinct towering planes of darkness.

As she grows closer the mass begins to take shape among the trees; a dimly lit mansion begins to rise upon her in the moonlight. She enters to find herself in a world of macabre mystery and murder: a world of Edgar Allan Poe.

Meadow Brook Theatre’s first production of the 2008-2009 season, “Murder by Poe,” written by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, brings the works of Edgar Allan Poe woven into a sinister tale filled with murder, mystery, betrayal and revenge.  

Directed by Oakland University alum and Meadow Brook Theatre artistic director, Travis Walter, “Murder by Poe” is brought to life by a cast of Michigan actors, including Kelly Komlen as the woman and Tobin Hissong as M. Dupin, Poe’s infamous fictional detective.  

“Murder by Poe” is spun from many of Poe’s most infamous tales, including “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Purloined Letter,” “The Black Cat,” “Fall of the House of Usher,” “Murder at the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Roget.”  

The woman in the play must solve the mysteries of the house, owned by Usher, played by Dax Anderson in order to secure a room in the seemingly desolate mansion.

As the house host, M. Dupin introduces the guests that have filled the other rooms, each who have their own wicked story of murder and mayhem.

It is the mystery of murder she must resolve to explain.  

Cat, played by Jeff Thomakos, explains his deviant affection for his black cat, until it begins to show a fondness for his wife.

He soon becomes enraged, only calming his fears with a quick swing of an axe.

Next, Heart, played by Chris Korte, tells of his hatred for his old man, whose defective and grotesque eye repulses him.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity, he finally resolves his quandary by shutting the eye for good.

The play attempts to use suspense and horror to placate even the most disturbed imagination, with a drop of comedic banter.

“Murder by Poe” at Meadow Brook comes just in time to “usher” in the Halloween season.  

“Murder by Poe” will continue at Meadow Brook Theatre through Nov. 2.

Tickets range from $24 to $39 and are available by calling the Meadow Theatre box office at (248)377-3300 or online through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.