Get Smitten at First Bite at L.A. Theatre Works

Before Twilight and True Blood, only one vampire commanded “the children of the night.” In this blood-thirsty tale of unholy terror, Count Dracula slips into Victorian London with a cargo of his native Transylvanian soil -- so he can rest between victims. The city seems helpless against his frightful power, and only one man, Dr. Van Helsing, can stop the carnage. But to do this, he must uncover the vampire’s lair and pierce his heart with a wooden stake.

Indeed, this adaptation, which runs May 18-22 with evening and matinee performances at the Skirball Cultural Center, preceded other current interpretations. Author Charles Morey explains: “I wrote this adaptation [of Bram Stoker’s novel] in 1990 and it was first produced in October of that year, long before Twilight and True Blood were even germs of an idea; several years before Coppola's…film. I wrote it because there wasn't a good, playable, faithful to the novel stage adaptation in existence at the time. Over the past two decades many others have jumped on the Dracula band wagon …”

Unlike most late 20^th and early 21^st century versions of Dracula in movies and TV which put a post-modern twist, either psycho-sexual or as a metaphor for social problems, Morey sticks to the basics where worlds collide: Dr. Seward, a man of medicine, science, and rationality verses the religiosity of Van Helsing. Reminiscent of The Exorcist: the demonic horror that is seen with one’s own eyes can only be destroyed by one with a strong faith.

Morey’s adaptation of Dracula will be performed by L.A. Theatre Works, which has, for more than 25 years, recorded onto CDs their performances of classic and contemporary plays for presentation over public and satellite radio and via Library Access. As was done during the golden age of old-time radio dramas, the actors sit on stage, scripts in hand, and, with sound effects person at the ready, perform in front of a live audience. The audience reactions are likewise recorded, and so, in part, the audience becomes part of the show as well.

 In the cast are two alumni of the Dark Shadows enterprise:  The role of Dracula is played by  Ben Cross [Barnabas Collins in the 1991 Dark Shadows TV Series], and David Selby [Quentin Collins in the original 1966-71 Dark Shadows TV Series and in the 1971 motion picture Night of Dark Shadows ] is cast as Van Helsing. Other cast members are Lisa O’Hare as Mina; Moira Quirk as Lucy; John Glover as Renfield; Karl Miller as Jonathan Harker; and Nick Toren as Dr. Seward. Also are featured Denise Carole, Sheelagn Cullen and Andre Sogliuzzo.

Charles Morey’s Dracula runs from May 18-22 with evening and matinee performances at L.A. Theatre Works at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. For tickets and more information contact the L.A. Theatre Works Box Office at 310-827-0889 , 310-827-0889, or find them online at www.latw.org.