Black Button Eyes Productions to Present MASQUE OF THE RED CORONAVIRUS Free Online

Black Button Eyes Productions is pleased to present the world premiere of Masque of the Red Coronavirus, a free online-only script and video experience, written and directed by Producing Artistic Director Ed Rutherford and adapted, in part, from Edgar Allen Poe's short story The Masque of Red Death. Poe's story, along with a few contemporary newspaper articles about how the wealthy are reacting to the current pandemic, inspired Rutherford to create a script combining the two into a short, angry satirical piece. In late March, the company reached out to a variety of artists to curate remotely recorded, multi-disciplinary performances from the script including spoken word, song, original music, fire dancing, puppetry, burlesque dancing, opera and more. Masque of the Red Coronavirus is currently available for free streaming at blackbuttoneyes.com/masque-of-the-red-coronavirus. Appropriate for ages 18+.

With the Red Coronavirus running rampant across the countryside and a vaccine still months away, what's a Prince to do? Lock himself in a secure bunker in an undisclosed location along with a cohort of his top donors, of course. To prevent he and his rich supporters from becoming bored, The Prince has also brought a few artists into the bunker to entertain the crowd. But as the hour grows later and the night grows weirder, it's clear that something else has also invaded the party.

Masque of the Red Coronavirus features Kat Evans, Sydney Genco, Scott Gryder (accompanied by Nick Sula with music by Jonathon Lynch), Adrian Hadlock, Dawn Xiana Moon, Shane Roberie, Mikaela Sullivan and Cyn S Tease Ya. The production also features original music by Jonathan Wagner and illustrations by Walter Bezt.