Mitisek's concept was to view both operas as interior dramas by self-destructive men. For Copeland's half-hour "Tell-Tale Heart", Mitisek littered the stage with litter, homeless people, hookers and (get it?) the police (including a fat one munching on doughnuts). The production turns Copeland's literal retelling of the short story into a flashy, grisly, sexy saga of a serial-killing Poe in a wheelchair.