In some circles, the late Edward Gorey might be best remembered as an illustrator whose delicately wrought (but unsettling) gothic pen-and-ink drawings helped pave the way for the likes of Tim Burton. But Gorey was also a prolific writer of playfully morbid short stories with such titles as The Beastly Baby and The Wuggly Ump.
That pedigree makes the Chicago-born master of the macabre an ideal subject for Phantasmagoria, the Victorian horror storytelling troupe that’s structuring its Halloween 2025 performance schedule around a tribute to this seminal sardonicist—who died in 2000 and would have turned 100 this year.
A lineup of approximately 20 performers will interpret Gorey’s winkingly dour scenarios in Phantasmagoria XVI: Hauntingly Whimsical Tales. The production will encompass dance, spoken recitations, live music, projections and puppetry (with puppets provided by Nic Parks of Orlando Family Stage).
The intent is to create a continuous, unbroken string of vignettes with an elegant waltz as a framing device. Phantasmagoria founder John DiDonna says he was stimulated by the challenge of weaving Gorey’s tales into a seamless production and of fleshing out some of his more sparse writing—particularly in his simple limericks—without adding a single extra word.
“Like in The Gashlycrumb Tinies, where it reads, ‘A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.’ That’s a line of dialogue. That’s it,” says DiDonna. “But who is Amy? What is she doing? What is her nature? We have to bring these things to life.”
In addition to four performances in the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater at Dr. Phillips Center, Phantasmagoria XVI will also be presented at the Melon Patch Theatre in Leesburg (October 3 and 4), the Athens Theatre in DeLand (October 24 and 25), the Tampa Theatre in Tampa (October 26), the Reilly Arts Center in Ocala (November 1) and Theater West End in Sanford (November 7 and 8).
The show has the full approval and license of The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust as part of a yearlong centennial celebration that includes events online and on two continents. The Trust, among other things, furthers Gorey’s commitment to the care and protection of animals, with a particular focus (of course) on bats and cats.
Dr. Phillips Center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. For more information, call or visit the website.
