Connecticut native tells Poe’s stories at the Young Auditorium as part of  The Big Read program

Joshua Kane stands alone on stage, looking as if he has stepped straight out of the pages of a Victorian novel. In a deep, booming voice, he begins to tell Edgar Allan Poe’s tales of murder, revenge and terror, causing the audience to forget that it is simply one man portraying the stories. His personality fills the stage.

Raised in an illegal boarding house in Connecticut, Kane’s eccentric childhood is just one of the many reasons he is a performer today.

“I used to visit my grandmother, and she would put me to bed listening to recordings of great actors such as Charles Laughton. So I grew up believing that dead people spoke from record players, which of course, they do,” Kane said. “I very much always loved what I call ‘theater of mind,’ the power of a story to ignite your imagination. And I’ve always been drawn to works of Edgar Allan Poe.”

Kane, who has been performing since the age of 13, has been performing his original show for the past 25 years.

The show includes several of Poe’s famous stories, including “The Raven,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” as well as the lesser-known “Hop Frog; Or, The Eight Chained Ourangoutangs.”

“Hop Frog is an epic story of revenge where I essentially get to do to politicians onstage what most people would like to do to them in real life,” Kane said. “It’s a story I think is particularly potent for Wisconsin folks these days.”

Although his love for Poe’s works runs deep, this isn’t the only thing Kane is looking forward to about this performance.

“I perform live theater because of the connection that takes place between actor and audience. It really is an immense pleasure connecting with people and meeting new people after the show and hearing their impressions,” Kane said. “Sharing a mutual passion is the reason I do this. How often do you get to do something knowing that everyone who paid to be there shares a passion with you?”

According to Leslie LaMuro, marketing specialist for the Young Auditorium, “Tales of Terror” is not a show to be missed for those who love Poe’s works or other horror stories.

“Poe is one of the first people who wrote spooky stories, many of which were turned into films. They had a very macabre sense about them,” LaMuro said. “This one-man show takes you through his life, brings out a number of tales Poe wrote and dramatizes them on stage. Any Poe fan or horror movie fan will enjoy it.”

Tickets can be purchased at the box offices located in the University Center or the Greenhill Center of the Arts in advance, or at the box office located in Young Auditorium the night of the show.