Dracula
Full disclosure: Although it may be hard to believe, I have
never seen nor read any version of the Count Dracula genre. That
includes anything pertaining to vampires or werewolves.
Of course, like everyone else, I've heard stories about vampires
and their insatiable lust for blood--also references to an old movie
staring Bella Lugosi as the Transylvanian Count--but that's it.
So I walked into the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre with no
preconceived baggage about Bram Stoker's world-famous novel, or any
inkling of how playwright Steven Dietz has adaptated it. The
subject must still be popular, however, since the theater was sold
out on opening night.
Everything takes place in 1897 London and Transylvania, just as
originally written. The dynamic Nero Pervan returns to the Long
Beach Playhouse to direct Dietz' fast-paced, blood-curdling drama.
Judging from Pervan's past credits ("The Crucible," "Extremities,"
"The Balcony," Ionesco's "MacBett" (sic)), he seems to favor this
dark, probing, provocative form of theater.
First a word about the production crew. Although it's easy to
present multiple locations in a book, movie, or television; it's
extremely difficult to do so on a small stage. That said, hats off
to the entire design/technical team:
Andrew Vonderschmit's multi-purpose set, Kyle Ruebsamen's
lighting, Donna Fritsche's costumes, Cat Elrod's make Up, Mladen
Milicevic's sound, and Sean Gray's props--plus all the back stage
painters, carpenters, and Jessica Young, the stage manager.
Act I alone moves like clock-work from a lunatic's cell in Dr.
Seward's Asylum to Lucy's room; then to a Transylvania guest room in
Dracula's castle, the deck of a ship, the street outside Lucy's
house, a hospital in Budapest, and Dracula's castle.
It takes a strong ensemble to sell Dietz' blood-sucking
adaptation without slipping into black comedy, and Pervan's
well-rehearsed cast fills the bill.
Nicolas Thurkettle almost steals the show as Renfield. Locked
up and shackled as a filthy lunatic in an insane asylum, his
appearance sounds the alarm for the horror to come. Dr. Seward
(Travis Dukelow) is studying his strange behavior and wants to help;
but people are being infected all over London and no one knows why.
The healthy, handsome Mr. Harker (Jackson Tobisko) just returned
from a business trip to Count Dracula's castle in a deplorable
state. His devoted fiance Mina (Lacy Hornick) is determined to save
him, but no one knows what happened or how.
Then seemingly out of the blue, the lovely Lucy (Maranda
Barskey) is also infected. Lucy is Mina's best friend; and although
she rejected Dr. Seward, Lucy is the love of his life.
Even Mina is stricken after being secured in a new safe location.
Desperate for help, an expert from Amsterdam is called in to solve
the problem of so many mysterious illnesses. (Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.
turns in a powerful performance as Dr. Van Helsing.)
Most theater-goers already know the outcome of this iconic,
legendary saga; but that won't stop anyone's anticipation, or mar
the enjoyment of the Studio Theatre's stage presentation.
Zoran Radanovich is terrific in his sinister portrayal of Count
Dracula--both as a dying vampire searching for fresh blood, and as
his young, reinvigorated self. And last, but far from least, the
audience will be delighted by two sex-starved vixens (Haley Vinzant
and Amy Bolton) who slide the coffins in and off the stage..
"Dracula" continues through November 10 at the LBP Studio
Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim at Clark Ave. Performances take place
Thursday-Saturday at 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Call (562)
494-1014 for tickets or online at www.lbplayhouse.org.