Get Your Reps In: Cormaynia Kicks Off With “The Masque of the Red Death”

What to see at Portland’s repertory theaters.

The Masque of Red Death (1964) (IMDB)
By Chance Solem-Pfeifer

The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

Singular B-movie impresario Roger Corman fostered a collaborator tree of both nascent legends (Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorcese) and stars in their dotage (Boris Karloff, Ray Milland).

But Vincent Price was an anomaly in finding a genuine career sweet spot alongside Corman. Their 1960s “Poe Cycle” cemented and deepened Price’s horror icon status right in the thick of his acting prime.

Clinton Street Theater opens its Cormaynia series on May 8 with The Masque of the Red Death, arguably Price’s most wicked turn in his and Corman’s seven Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.

Price plays the sociopathic Prince Prospero, who lords over a devil-worshipping medieval court during plague times. Come for Price mewing about “the glories of hell” and daggers “impregnated with poison” as only he could. Stay for Corman directing as close as he can to “stately” while still indulging the schlock of crow attacks, satanic cleavage tattoos, and bacchanalia by way of interpretive dance.

Cormaynia runs through May 20 at the Clinton. Moviegoers can buy whole-festival passes or half passes for just the Poe portion of the Corman retrospective or its “Space Trash” second half. Clinton, May 8.

Also Playing:

5th Avenue: The Battle of Algiers (1966), May 9–11. Academy: The End of Evangelion (1997), May 9–15. The Fast and the Furious (2001), May 9–15. Eye of the Devil (1966), May 9–15. Cinema 21: Police Story (1985), May 9 and 10. Brief Encounter (1945), May 10. Cinemagic: The Fifth Element (1997), May 7. Pitch Black (2000), May 7. The Night Comes for Us (2018), May 8. The Warriors (1979), May 8. Clinton: The Fall of the House of Usher (1960), May 9. The Tomb of Ligeia (1964), May 9. The Raven (1963), May 10. The Terror (1963), May 10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), May 10. A Bucket of Blood (1959), May 11. X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes (1963), May 11. The Trip (1967), May 13. Hollywood: The Public Enemy (1931), May 8. Viy (1967), May 9. Donnie Darko (2001), May 9–11. Top Hat (1935), May 10 and 11. The Invincible Armour (1977), May 13. Tomorrow: Twister (1996), May 10. Grey Gardens (1975), May 11.

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