Americans’ fascination with all things Egyptian has a long and rich history, going back to the early 19th century. Egypt even caught the eye of Edgar Allan Poe, America’s first master of the macabre, who wrote the short story “Some Words with a Mummy” in 1845.

On Nov. 10 and 11, renowned actor and Poe impersonator David Keltz stages his new one-man show, “Some Words with a Mummy: Edgar Allan Poe and Egyptology” in a most appropriate setting: the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s Lower Egyptian Gallery.

Before the performance, Museum Egyptologists Josef and Jennifer Wegner set Poe’s story in context with a historical talk on the then-new discipline of Egyptology in the early 1800s, and in the Upper Egyptian Gallery, the Museum will offer a host of activities for the entire family before and after each show.

—S.S.

- “SOME WORDS WITH A MUMMY”: 12:30, 1:45 and 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 and 1:30, 2:45 and 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11 at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, 33rd and Spruce streets. Tickets free on a first-come, first-served basis with Museum admission ($5, seniors/students with ID $2.50, Museum members/PennCard holders/children 6 and under/all visitors Sunday free). Info: 215-898-4000.