Early Poe

A weird tale about the young poet
for three men and two women
Full Length -- Various simple settings
Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Richmond, 1823. Young Edgar Allan Poe and his foster-father John share a mistress, but when she dies and Edgar seems to bring her back from the dead, John attempts to destroy her and Edgar.

Plot Summary

Young Edgar Allan Poe can do nothing to please his foster-father, John Allan, and John can't accept that his ward is becoming such a strange young man. John's eccentric mistress Jane Stanard attracts and frightens Edgar; he initiates a weird affair with her to spite John. But the bond threatens business and family, forcing both men to end the affair. When Mrs. Stanard goes insane and dies, Edgar briefly unites with John in mutual grief. But Edgar soon finds a new amour: Sarah Elmira Royster, who looks -- to John, Edgar and the audience -- exactly like Mrs. Stanard. Alternately attracted to and frightened by Elmira, John attempts to remove this ghost from their lives, even as Edgar tries to use this shared phantasm to bring John and him together as the father and son they have never been.

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Character Breakdown

JOHN (JOCK) ALLAN, Male, early forties. Edgar's foster-father. Scottish tobacco merchant. Has a pronounced limp in his left leg. Slips in and out of his brogue.

EDGAR ALLEN POE, Male, teens. The ward of JOHN and FRANCES ALLEN. Black loosely-curled hair. Diminutive and heroic.

JANE STANARD, female, late twenties. Wife of Judge Robert Stanard, a high social position. Well-read and mentally unstable.

FRANCES (FANNY) ALLAN, female, early thirties. John's wife. Alternately refined and crass, depending on which is more irritating.

CHARLES ELLIS, male, late forties. John Allan's firm partner. Thicker brogue than John. Gregarious and messy, but devoted to his business.

SARAH ELMIRA (MYRA) ROYSTER, female, teens. Must be played by the same actress that plays JANE STANARD. The daughter of one of JOHN's clients. Daring, with adolescent pride in her eccentricities.