Review: NEVERMORE Offers a Unique Poe-Inspired Bus Tour of Historic Places Along the Valley's Orange Line

As a life-long fan of Edgar Allan Poe and site-specific theater, I jumped at the chance to attend NEVERMORE, a one-of-a-kind guided tour experience by Metro bus through the San Fernando Valley. Billed as a unique Halloween experience taking place only on Saturday, October 29 celebrating Edgar Allan Poe and the San Fernando Valley, audience members accompanied by a tour guide traveled along METRO's Orange Line each hour from 11am to 3pm. Each tour commenced at the Van Nuys Civic Plaza, and traversed through Laurel Canyon shops and the Eclectic Company Theatre, and culminated at North Hollywood Park.

Part haunting, part community storytelling exploring neighborhood change and development, I applaud Theatre Magnet for their 6-month journey in producing the event, even though I am not quite sure there was much Edgar Allan Poe taking place in most of the tour stops, as the stories told for the most part were about the history of Van Nuys and other points visited in the Valley. Don't get me wrong, the information shared was fascinating and I learned more about Van Nuys than I ever knew before, from the original Indian settlers to current projects celebrating the rebirth of sites in the area such as the refurbishing of the original Southern Pacific - Pacific Electric Station used when red trolley cars traversed the same route as the current Orange Line buses.

During the afternoon, a free Poetry Hub at the Van Nuys Civic Plaza featured live poetry readings by over 40 local poets, crafts, face painting, literary booths, poetry giveaways, a graffiti wall, live drawings, and food vendors. Perhaps partly due to the extremely humid day, the Plaza event was not very well attended when we arrived and there were only 6 people on the 3pm tour. Still the cast members were dedicated, each playing their parts with authenticity and sincerity.

After learning many historical facts about early Van Nuys presented by our tour guide in the rotunda of the Martin Braude building, we walked accompanied by an entertaining clarinet player for several blocks to the Orange Line stop at Van Nuys and Chandler. Each participant was given an all-day Metro pass, allowing us to ride any form of Metro transportation for the entire day. With our guide, we boarded the next well-appointed bus, which was nearly full. I am sure many riders wondered exactly what was going on, especially when we all started reading texts sent to us from Edgar Allan Poe inviting us to join him at our next stop.

That stop was at Laurel Canyon and Chandler, in a neighborhood when many Mom-and-Pop businesses have been located for more than 40 years. As we crossed Laurel Canyon on foot, I noticed a homeless woman dressed in white laying on the sidewalk. Little did I know she would wake up as we walked past her, jump to her feet and immediately start begging for money. Yes there are many homeless people living on the streets in the Valley and her appearance brought that reality into focus as our guide moved us into the Eclectic Theater where we were invited to experience a memorial service dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe although his name was never spoken. The spirits in the room created an atmosphere of wonder and fear, either repeating words spoken by others or laughing at apparently nothing. Then in a very confusing moment, we were yelled at to leave, which we most assured did after being handed a small red paper heart. And that was about it for Edgar Allan Poe during the tour.

After visiting Tashkent Russian Market, a neighborhood shop featuring items from Russia and Armenia where the counter staff only speak Russian, we returned to the station and boarded the bus for our next stop in North Hollywood. After walking past the afore-mentioned Pacific Electric Station and learning about the historic Post Office and Fire Station in the area, we were entertained with a soulful rendition of "Summertime" as we waited for the long light to change.

The last stop was at North Hollywood Park where a wonderful violin player invited us to sit by the trees and listen to his music. A ceremony was being held in which a paper red heart was buried, a reference to Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." As the music played on, four women covered by flowing white material and dressed in flesh-toned lingerie woke from their slumber and slowly moved sinuously toward a pole in their midst with colorful rose petals at its base. They were a fascinating foursome to watch perform, especially as they each took a turn climbing and artistically lowering themselves on the pole. As this was their fifth and last performance of the day, we were invited to speak with them about their work after being treated to wonderful pastries from a local Russian bakery.

Then it was off to the bus for the ride back to the Van Nuys Civic Plaza. The afternoon was a lovely way to discover hidden cultural treasures, engage with LA's premier immersive performers, and explore the visceral power of art in its many forms. I just wish there had been much more of Poe's writings and personality as part of the tour, other than the decorated ravens and black umbrellas painted by Plaza artists which were presented to audience members as a souvenir. Thankfully we had been forewarned about the need to dress comfortably, especially in shoes made for walking. Even so, we were surprised just how much walking was involved!

For more details about the event, visit: http://bit.ly/nevermorepoe.

NEVERMORE was a project of Theatre Magnet, a subsidiary of Artist Magnet, and RENT Poet, in partnership with the Eclectic Company Theatre, funded in part by the City of LA Artist-in-Residency Program and the Creative Economic Development Fund (CEDF) with support from the Surdna Foundation, the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), with additional support from the LA Tourism & Convention Board, the Offices of LA Councilmembers Nury Martinez & Paul Krekorian and LA County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl & Michael Antonovich.

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