Gorey Stories

A musical entertainment adapted by Stephen Currens

Music by David Aldritch

Based on the work of Edward Gorey

Featuring a special encore mini-concert tribute to The Tiger Lillies

Directed by David M. Jenkins

Oct. 24 – Nov. 18, 2012

Thu. – Sat. 8pm, Sun. 4pm

Tickets: $28

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center for the Performing Arts

Winner!

  • 2008 Creative Loafing Best of the Bay – Best Costume Designer – Katrina Stevenson
  • Jobsite Jobby – Best Supporting Actress (tie) – Summer Bohnenkamp-Jenkins
  • Jobsite Jobby – Best Overall Design – Brian Smallheer (Scenic/Lights) & Katrina Stevenson (Costume)

Not so much of a return as a reboot, Jobsite revisits their wildly popular 2007 production that enjoyed a sold-out four-week run.

Perfect for the Halloween season, this production is a monochromatic musical love letter to all things Edward Gorey. Following the 75-minute musical entertainment there will be an encore of selections from The Tiger Lillies' Gorey End album, which was written from a box of unpublished stories sent to them by Edward Gorey.

Gorey Stories features beloved tales such as "The Hapless Child," "The Curious Sofa," and "The Gashleycrumb Tinies."

Expect a pared-down cast, a fleshed-out band with a new sound, and bigger and better production values!

"A unique, odd, perverse and engaging entertainment. It is not an evening you are going to easily forget." – N.Y. Post.

Highslide JS

(L-R) Roz Potenza, Katrina Stevenson and Steve Garland in Jobsite's Gorey Stories. (Photo by Brian Smallheer.)

Click to enlarge

Gorey Stories is a compilation of Edward Gorey's stories, poems and limericks – a neo-gothic vision of the world as dark, mysterious, sinister and yet simultaneously hilarious. In the mix are unusual creatures, curious landscapes, insanity, religious fanaticism, murder, catchy tunes and the worlds of dance, opera, literature and film. The show gains its cohesive, linear feel as the party assembled in the parlor of Lady Celia carries us through Gorey’s kooky world.

The late Edward Gorey (d. 2000) illustrated and wrote short stories, poems, prose and plays based in an eerie and macabre world, full of odd characters (often children) that experience strange fates often leading to mysterious demises.

His illustrations resemble a Victorian-era woodcut drawing with a bit of Goya, Aubrey Beardsley and Charles Addams thrown in for good measure. His illustrations were animated for the introduction to the popular PBS show Mystery!, and he provided production design for popular Broadway productions such as Dracula (for which he won a Tony for Best Costumes). He also illustrated T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the basis for the musical CATS.

Most are not aware that Gorey was ever responsible for a musical, and that’s due to the fact that it closed the same night it opened – Oct. 31, 1978. Around the turn of the century, the play found a second life in black-box theaters with smaller production elements, concentrating on the unique storytelling and the brilliant characters in an intimate environment. In the past five or so years several cutting-edge theaters across the country have turned this show into an enormous cult hit.

Jobsite believes the show will be suitable for most, though recommends any patron do their research first. There are occasional sexual implications (particularly in the piece The Curious Sofa), and the edgy subject matter is certainly sardonic, but the amusing results are suitable for those who may already love Lemony Snicket or the worlds of Tim Burton.

Age recommendation: 14+ Contains some adult subject matter and situations.

2012–13 Season Tickets

A season ticket to all six plays will go on sale Apr. 23 at 30% off the regular price – that's $117.60 per season ticket plus a $10 handling fee per order (whether you purchase one season ticket or 100). This offer will be valid through Sunday, Jul. 29. As of Jul. 30, the season ticket discount changes to 20% off, or $134.40 per season ticket plus a $10 handling fee per order.

In an effort to be more green, renewals for existing subscriptions will be e-mailed on or around Apr. 16. Any account without a valid email will have a hard mailing sent.

If you are not a current season ticket holder, you can receive an email notification when season tickets are available by emailing .

See more about Jobsite's Season Tickets.

Gorey Stories Poster

Download and complete our Season Ticket order form.

"True to the illustrator-author's tongue-in-cheek humor, the vignettes depart from the innocent play of bygone gentility and turn toward the dark side ... Through spoken word, song and dance, the cast portrays willful carnage and debauchery with lively humor. They seem to revel in the chance to perform as unsupervised, naughty children in a Lord of the Flies underworld." – Tampa Tribune

"The production ... is amply amusing, full of Gorey's dry wit and benignly disturbing characterizations. But by far the most striking elements are visual ... The effect is ghastly, humorous and strangely beautiful. It's a collision of Dr. Seuss, Charles Addams and Edvard Munch. Combine that look with Gorey's morbid but jaunty stories, verse and songs, and you end up with a memorable theater experience." – St. Peterburg Times

"By the end of the play, fans will find themselves caught up in the debauchery of Gorey's stories, gleefully singing along and wishing there were more than 26 letters in the alphabet." – The Oracle