Thursday, January 6, 2011

Theater Review: Dracula

l-r: Michel Altieri (as Dracula) and George Hearn (as Van Helsing) in DRACULA
at Little Shubert (422 W 42nd St). Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg


This Production of 'Dracula' Lacks Life
By Lauren Yarger
With all of the vampire frenzy lately over the “Twilight” series and other incarnations of the bloodsucking undead like “True Blood” on HBO, I guess it’s no surprise that now would be a good time to resurrect the stage play based on Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula,” playing off-Broadway for a limited run at the Little Shubert.

The play, adapted by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston has had previous success, starting in 1927 with Bela Lugosi in the role of the 500-year-old Transylvanian Count who must suck the blood from humans to exist and to transform himself into creatures of the night like wolves and bats. Broadway best remembers the 1977 production starring a sensational Frank Langella as the sexy vampire. He won the Tony as did the play for best revival and he went on to star in the 1979 film version opposite Sir Laurence Olivier as vampire expert/stalker Abraham Von Helsing.

This current rendition, directed by Paul Alexander and starring Italian stage star Michel Altieri, who makes his American stage debut as Dracula, seems dead, ironically, and tends toward humorous rather than chilling. Altieri, very slim, and brushing back very long black hair locks (Paul Huntley, hair design) brings to mind Fabio romance-novel covers. Or, when the light strikes his full lips in a wide grin standing out against a pale face, he looks like the Joker from Batman. He never convincingly exudes the haunted, sexual masculinity that draws Lucy Seward (Emily Bridges) against her will from the attentions of her devoted fiancé, Jonathan Harker (Jake Silbermann), causes Lucy’s maid Miss Wells (Katharine Luckinbull) to betray her mistress or enslaves the mind of spider and fly-eating Renfield (John Buffalo Mailer) to make him a vampire in training.

To say that there is any sexual tension between Dracula and Lucy here would be like saying vampires crave sunlight. It would be false. Truthfully, if this hair-tossing, cape swirling Dracula appeared in my bed chamber, I’d wake the rest of the house with my laughter. Lucy and Jonathan throw more sparks, and truthfully, Silbermann, who gives one of two believable performances in the production, would have made a better Dracula. The second believable and solid performance comes from Timothy Jerome as Lucy’s father, Dr. Seward.

There also isn’t any tension between the vampire and his nemesis, Van Helsing, played here by the hapless George Hearn who seems to be grasping for lines at times and who on several occasions called Lucy “Mina.” Mina is Lucy’s companion (also played by Luckinbull) who succumbed to Dracula’s charms and deadly bloodsucking to become the Woman in White who preys upon small children in this remote section of England. Hearn, usually a treat, was more fun in his other bloody role: Sweeney Todd.

Funny, though I don’t think he’s supposed to be, is Mailer’s Renfield, who vacillates between playing a courteous southern gentleman and trying to act like a mad man. He spends most of his time escaping from orderly Butterworth (Rob O’Hare) and climbing down the walls of Dr. Seward’s manse like a spider to answer his master’s call. Dare I say at least one New York spiderman’s special effects worked well (Flying by Foy).

Overall, the production has an amateur feel, from the level of performances to obviously fake books in Dana Kenn’s rotating set to overkill on the fog every time Dracula appears (Rick Sorelet and Mike Rossmy, flight choreography and special effects), though I did like their fluttering bat and a scrim effect that has Dracula suddenly appear in a portrait. Canned music in between scenes and the obvious sound effect of wolves howling are annoying (Chris DelVecchio, design). Wila Kim’s costumes are uninspired and Dracula’s cape looks like it has the image of a bat outlined inside – almost like something you’d see in a Halloween shop.

Also generating a few chuckles is the group’s apparent slow wittedness (blame the book along with the staging which has them walking around awkwardly for no reason). What are those two puncture marks on Lucy’s neck? Could they be related to those found on Mina? Hey guys, wouldn’t it make sense to have someone – or everyone—stay with Lucy at night when she is plagued by nightmares and appears to lose a lot of blood just like Mina did or even take Lucy away to somewhere safe (though this really never happens because if it did, there wouldn’t be a play)?

No one ever notices the truly massive amounts of fog portending Dracula’s arrival on the scene. Alexander simply has cast members turn their backs every time Dracula enters so they can be surprised when they turn and see the count in the room. “I have a light footfall,” Dracula tells them (many times – again redundancy), which makes it kind of comical when his footsteps are clearly audible as he walks to his mark.

The group is astonished to find that there’s a secret panel behind those fake books. They also are hunting around the set for Dracula’s resting place, but fail to notice a rather large coffin sitting stage center. The trapped Dracula gleefully informs them they have their facts all wrong about the stake-driving thing and that they might not be able to save Lucy if she dies at night. Gee, you’d think that the wolfbane, crucifix, wooden stake-carrying Von Helsing might have known about that being up on vampire lore and all.

Well, here’s another piece of trivia for Dracula to think about. I’m not a vampire expert, but I do know that the undead aren’t supposed to have reflections (he does tell us this, though I couldn’t see the mirror from my seat, so I don’t know whether he was visible) or shadows. This Dracula casts large shadows on the walls of the sets and on the house right wall all through the performance, however (Brian Nason, lighting). Maybe it’s just the shadow of Langella’s excellent performance haunting the current staging.

Dracula, which was scheduled to run through March 13 at the Little Shubert Theatre, 422 west 42ns St., apparently has closed, though I haven't received an official notice. Tickets suddenly could be purchased only through Jan. 9.

Christians might also like to know:
• Crucifix, holy water and elements of the Lord’s supper used to combat the vampire.

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

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All material is copyright 2008- 2022 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

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