For three days in March, Worcester’s Mechanics Hall will be transformed into a speakeasy paying homage to one of the most famous poets in the world.
The Edgar Allen Poe Speakeasy is a pop-up cocktail bar that features live performances from actors reciting four of Poe’s works. Throughout the show, patrons are served four different cocktails, each named after one of the poems.
The speakeasy will open at Mechanics Hall on March 13 and will last until March 15. After that, the speakeasy’s time in the Heart of the Commonwealth will be, quoth the raven, “nevermore.”
A portal back to the 19th century
Julia Austin, the creative director of the speakeasy’s performance, said that those who attend the event will be transported back to the Victorian Era, with the stage of Mechanics Hall being transformed into Poe’s personal study.
As attendees enter the speakeasy, they are greeted by the actors, speaking and acting as if they were from the 19th century, according to Austin.
“Right off the bat, we try to put you back during Poe’s actual lifetime,” Austin told MassLive. “Most of the time, you are going to see a shrine and that has some cool incense going and you can grab a quill and try your hand a leaving a note for the master of macabre.”
As they walk into the theater space, which is first come, first served, people will notice the dim lighting and fog on the stage, Austin said. On the stage is a writer’s desk, which is supposed to be Poe’s.
The poems that will be performed at the speakeasy are “The Tell-Tale Heart,” The Black Cat,” “The Raven,” and “The Masque of the Red Death,” Austin said. Actors involved in the production will be milling throughout the room, with some of them performing the poems. Throughout the show, a narrator will touch upon the historical aspects of Poe’s life, said Austin.
Poe himself is a native of Massachusetts, born in Boston on Jan. 19, 1809.
“In his lifetime, he didn’t have a lot of money,” Austin said. “Admittedly, he was a very poor man.”
A macabre medley of mixed drinks
During the show, four different cocktails will be served to attendees. All four cocktails are named and inspired by the four poems.
The first drink is the “Pale Blue Eye,” a blue cocktail made with blueberry vodka, fresh lemon juice, and rose syrup and topped with La Croix, according to the speakeasy’s website. The drink’s name is a reference to a passage in the Tell-Tale Heart where the narrator describes the “pale blue eye” of an old, dead man.
The second cocktail is the “Cocktail of Red Death,” named after the poem, The Masque of the Red Death.
The cocktail is made of 100-proof vodka, cherry herring, benedictine liquor, lime juice, pineapple juice, and bitters.
The third cocktail, which Austin said is served during the performance of “The Black Cat,” is “Edgar’s Twisted Brandy Milk Punch.”
The website reads that the drink is “equal parts Kentucky Bourbon meets with French Brandy and is mixed with vanilla cream, milk syrup and half and half, topped with star anise.”
Finally, there is “The Nevermore,” a drink that pays homage to Poe’s “The Raven.” The pitch-black cocktail is made of orange peach blossom vodka, lime juice and secret spices.
A love for Poe
For Austin, who is in charge of writing the show, the speakeasy is the result of her love for the poet.
It was in seventh grade when Austin first read Poe and his work spoke to her in a way that no other writer’s did.
“I always loved the macabre air about him and how he was kind of dubbed the master of macabre,” Austin said. “It struck a chord with me.”
The speakeasy opened in 2023 and has traveled throughout the country, making stops in Boston before, according to Austin. This will be the first time the speakeasy will open in Worcester.
“We’ve dabbled around some of the larger cities but this is our first time coming to Worcester,” Austin said. “We’re excited to be able to expand outside of what people might assume is the norm in those big, a-list market towns you go to.”
The Edgar Allen Poe Speakeasy opens its doors to those who dare to enter on March 13 at Worcester’s Mechanics Hall. Tickets can be purchased here.
