‘I’ve done a lot of research on how difficult it was for everyone to adapt Dracula onto the stage – there have been hundreds of versions,’ Stoker says. ‘At first I wasn’t writing much of the dialogue with Chris, but as my confidence grew, he wanted ideas of what should and shouldn’t go into the play.’ One major addition is the incorporation of a special preface that has only ever appeared in a 1901 Icelandic translation of the novel. In it, Stoker addresses the reader directly, writing that everything they are about to read is true. Both Cook and Stoker found this irresistible, and rewrote the preface as a framing monologue addressing the audience, where Stoker himself becomes a pivotal character, gradually revealing the ‘truth’ to the audience. ‘As far as we know, no one has done anything like this before dramatically,’ Cook notes. ‘This is as much a celebration of Bram Stoker’s life as it is [a celebration] of the novel.’
For Stoker, the inclusion of his ancestor as a character has evolved into an opportunity to delve even further into his family’s ancestry. ‘Bram Stoker was a ‘noticer’, he explains. ‘He was aware of everything and the world around him and he was willing to make a difference with those issues and he did. He was concerned with socialism, health, science and technology; his mother was a social activist, he was a civil servant and wanted to adjust the law. This play is a chance to show people a side of Bram that they may not have been previously familiar with.’
Stoker and Cook say they will be sticking closely to the original storyline, with the preface serving as the only major addition. ‘It’s just [fresh] enough to cast a shadow of doubt and make people a little uneasy,’ says Stoker. ‘This is something I love about horror – those things that make you feel a little uneasy about the world around you.’ The Bram Stoker Estate Dracula runs from October 17 to October 31 at the Outdoor Riverwalk Amphitheater in West Columbia, South Carolina. More information available at DraculaPlay.com.”
HIGH VOLTAGE SCORES WITH
NEW DRACULA
Production Runs Through Oct 31 at Riverwalk Amphitheater
By Meredith Merridew
Theatre Review: Free Times
Friday, October 25th, 2013
“All it takes is new blood. Christofer Cook, founder of High Voltage Theatre and Dacre Stoker, great-grand-nephew of Bram, have infused new life into a 19th- Century classic; in doing so, they have created a viable stage Dracula for the new millennium, remaining true to the source novel while exploring new dramatic territory suggested by live (or undead?) performance. The world premiere of DRACULA of Transylvania endorsed by and developed in collaboration with the Bram Stoker Estate is quite a coup for Columbia, or more accurately West Columbia, where the Count will be menacing maidens and sucking blood in the Riverwalk Amphitheater through Thursday, October 31.
Bram Stoker’s 1897 plot, often altered or discarded entirely in stage and screen adaptations, is followed closely. Young lawyer Jonathan travels to Transylvania (rural mountainous Romania) to work on real estate contracts for the reclusive Count. After 400 years in isolation in the Balkan equivalent of West Virginia, Dracula craves a change of venue to merry old England. Scenes of Jonathan’s growing realization of his host’s true nature alternate with London vignettes of his sensible fiancé Mina indulging in Jane Austen-style banter with her giddy cousin Lucy.
Lucy is pursued by three suitors: brooding nobleman Arthur, dashing American cowboy Quincy, and dedicated physician Jack, who happens to run the neighboring “lunatic asylum”. Before long, Lucy succumbs to some pernicious anemia, and Seward’s mentor Professor Van Helsing is called in. Whereupon mayhem ensues.
Cook and Dacre Stoker are successful in three major areas: flowing language, expanded characterizations, and visual moments of eerie silence on stage. The novel is written as a series of letters, news articles, and diary and journal extracts, but here the author’s sometimes turgid Victorian prose is melded seamlessly with new dialogue by the playwrights. The audience still understands that these are people speaking a more formalized type of English from long ago, but words are easily understood, including some complex sections of exposition about the vampire’s nature. Dracula, Lucy, and mad minion Renfield all benefit from enhanced and extended speeches – practically soliloquies – that give their portrayers plenty of material to… well, to sink their teeth into, while fleshing out characters that are often depicted as little more than plot devices. It’s still a very talky play with nods to the quips and bon mots of period wits like Shaw and Wilde, but then one or more vampires will silently enter from the hillside and woods that flank the performance space and the effect is genuinely chilling.
Alfred Kern as Dracula with his flat, methodical delivery and his long, flowing grey hair is reminiscent of Alan Rickman… until you realize that Alan Rickman would actually make an incredible Dracula, just a different one than traditionally portrayed. There’s much more subtlety and nuance in Kern’s Slavic monotone than is immediately apparent, and you realize that it’s actually carefully underplayed restraint. The playwrights give him a terrific speech connecting to the historical Dracula, aka Vlad the Impaler, and Kern’s hair, mustache and beard channel Vlad perfectly.
Cook makes no secret of his love for the Renfield character, whom he first played in high school. As Renfield, here Cook looks like Hell. Literally – he resembles Satan. His scarlet jumpsuit is actually long underwear, his leather and chains are simply asylum restraints, and that’s just unkempt hair, not horns above his forehead. Cook, the actor, steals his scenes away from the rest of the cast, but nevertheless, Renfield is a sight to behold, alternating between a defiant Lear-like figure and a cringing Gollum. (I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Tokien drew on Renfield, already an archetype long before he ever wrote The Hobbit.)
Stephanie Walden takes top acting honors as Lucy, artfully tracing her transition from silly, shallow society girl to creature of the night. A friend accurately noted that Lucy really doesn’t hesitate too much in embracing the dark side, and indeed seems all too proficient when she becomes an evil seductress. As she describes to Mina the conflict and passion running through her veins, she speaks directly to the audience, and when she proclaims “I THIRST!”, chills are guaranteed to run down your spine. And you may want to offer your own neck to her, as the actress is gorgeous, and her performance is commanding.
During the promotion for this play, Chad Forrister (Quincy) challenged me to give him a bad review some day, but he’s not getting one here. As in the book, Quincy and Arthur (Alexis Casanovas) are underwritten; indeed the characters are often merged into one. I’ve always seen Quincy as a Texas gentleman, not a rip-roarin’ “I’ll be hornswoggled!” gunslinger, but the character here is written the way a Brit of Irish heritage would imagine an American to behave. Forrister, adept at broadly-drawn characters, is up for the challenge, and would make a great Wyatt Earp in some High Voltage play as-yet-unwritten. Casanovas has nice moments of restrained physicality as we watch Lucy essentially die in real time before us. Nathan Dawson as Jack is excellent, depicting a decent young man of science, although one a little too starchy and clinical to appeal to the lively Lucy.
Brittany Bierman does solid work as Mina, while William Cavitt has a baby face but a rich mature voice, both perfect for Jonathan. Cavitt stepped into the role only two weeks before opening, but completely carries his half of extended scenes with Dracula. David Reed as Van Helsing recalls the eccentric portrayal of Anthony Hopkins from the 1992 Coppola film; alone among the “gentlemen” he wears no necktie or cravat, a radical statement for that era. The playwrights accentuate his quirkiness for comic effect, but Reed manages to deliver plenty of lines with gravity and solemnity.
Laura Dixon, Breck Cronise, and Haley Claffy are slinky and menacing as the three vampire brides of Dracula; Claffy doubles as a London nurse who attends the dying Lucy, and you’d never know it was the same actress if not for her petite stature. That actually enhances the role, because one imagines tha
t she was some young tween transformed by Dracula, who then became as sexy and predatory as her older, taller peers.
Costumes by Alice Perkins, sound design by Blanchard Williams (incorporating appropriate mood music at crucial moments, as well as realistic sounds of bats at windows, wolves howling in the distance, and a baby crying) and lighting by Rufus Carson (using floods of red at moments you’d expect) are all excellent. The set by West Jenkins, a menacing stone and mortar interior with assorted nooks, crannies, and portals is adequate. Actors are on the raised stage and the larger sandy gravel area in front is used where the performers have room to move around. Only area microphones are used, and the actors generally project better than any number of recent indoors shows I’ve seen, where performers sport head mikes and still can’t be heard.
Use of stage magic and special effects are accomplished solely by the actors with no technology. There is one especially striking effect: it involves a sort of telekinetic push by Lucy, and later by Dracula, and the result is as good as anything on the big screen.
DRACULA of Transylvania is a decent and admirable first performance of a new adaptation of a hugely popular and influential work. Believe it or not, it’s also relatively family-friendly. Blood is minimal, skin even less so, and there’s more creepy suspense than actual horror. I first read the novel in a frenzied 24-hour marathon aided by a flashlight under the covers, shortly after the last day of 6th grade, and that seems about the right age to be able to first appreciate the material. While the theatrical performances of the cast and the script’s language is reminiscent of Shakespeare, the overall tone is perhaps closest to the Hammer films of the late 1950’s. Now, if you’re going, be sure to bring some folding chairs or at least stadium cushions to sit on. Weather is tricky this time of year, so an extra jacket or blanket wouldn’t be amiss, and perhaps an umbrella.”
‘DRACULA of Transylvania’,
Succeeds with High Stakes!
By August Krickel
Theatre Review: Onstage Columbia
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013
Christofer Cook and Dacre Stoker, playwright and script advisor, respectively, have accomplished the oft-elusive objective of their contemporaries; fashioning a world-renown literary classic into a stage play that is both relevant and engaging for modern-day audiences. Their rich and intricately crafted script is that rarest of stage properties, a Dracula that offers a satisfying live alternative to decades of cinematic gore and computer-generated mayhem. The adaptors’ respect for the source material retains Bram Stoker’s florid, near-Shakespearean prose without sacrificing suspense, thrills, chills, or good old-fashioned action. This is the purest of portraits presented plein-air, staged in an outdoor amphitheater near the banks of a vast river. This allows for unexpected entrances and exits, and a sense of the foreboding grandeur of nature. This new adaptation incorporates all of the best fan-favorites: Harker’s journey to and harrowing escape from Transylvania, the enticing and seductive brides of Dracula, Lucy’s wasting illness, the heroic valor of her three suitors, confrontations with the “Bloofer Lady”, and Dracula’s gypsy minions. I was particularly pleased with an expanded acknowledgement of the Count’s connection to the historical Prince Vlad, tragic defender of Wallachia and/or evil impaler of his enemies. The natural limitations of live performance are cleverly accommodated by the author’s suggestions for staging, making Dracula of Transylvania an attractive choice for directors working within every budget, at every type of venue, and every level of theatre.
•A Disclaimer: The previews, reviews, and articles above were published during the early stages of a temporary partnership between the Bram Stoker Estate and High Voltage Theatre. However, this play is not officially endorsed by the Bram Stoker Estate. Rather, it is a verifiably-historical literary document resulting from a collaboration and association between playwright, Christofer Cook, and the Stoker family, descendents of Bram Stoker. No misrepresentation of DRACULA of Transylvania in relation to the Bram Stoker Estate is intended.
For
Dacre & Jenne Stoker,
of The Bram Stoker Estate
with eternal gratitude
for your generosity, patience,
inspiration, and encouragement
throughout the process.
DRACULA of Transylvania, a Play in Three Acts, is by Christofer Cook, with script advisement by Dacre Stoker. It made its world premiere on October 17th, of 2013. The show was produced by High Voltage Theatre and presented at the Riverwalk Amphitheater in West Columbia, South Carolina. The production was directed by Mr. Cook and advised by Mr. Stoker. The cast was as follows:
Count DraculaAlfred Kern
Abraham Van HelsingDavid Reed
Mina MurrayBrittany Bierman
Jonathan HarkerWilliam Cavitt
Dr. Jack SewardNathan Dawson
Arthur Holmwood / Lord GodalmingAlexis Casanovas
Quincy P. MorrisChadwick Forrester
Lucy WestenraStephanie Walden
R.M. RenfieldChristofer Cook
Mrs. Westenra / Patti HennesseyTeresa McWilliams
Woman in White #1Laura Dixon
Woman in White #2Breck Cronise
Woman in White #3 / Smollet SnellingHaley Claffy
Waites SimmonsDillon Winter
Ian Paterson/ CoachmanJohn Dixon
Innkeeper’s Wife / Mildred CreapleyAlice Perkins
Nigel BillingtonAustin Gilbert
Mr. Swales / Train ConductorKeats Rowell
Innkeeper / Gypsy GuardEvan Franklin
BoyHenry Dawson
Stage Manager was Blanchard Williams, Set design was by West Jenkins, Construction by West Jenkins and Roy Williamson. Costumes designed by Lydia Latham, Hilda Palacios, and Alice Perkins. Special Effects Make-Up by Courtney Slocumb. Lighting by Rufus Carson, Dance Choreography was by Tracy Steele.
THE USAGE OF ‘WILL’ VERSUS ‘SHALL’ IN THE SCRIPT
Much is made of the usage of ‘will’ and ‘shall’ with regard to drama. Contemporary plays won’t likely use the word ‘shall’ at all. But being that this is a story set mostly in late 19th Century England, we felt that the use of ‘shall’ was rather fitting. Every effort has been made to adhere to the rules set forth by Oxford English. To make it simple, we have used ‘shall’ in first-person circumstances. This is allowed in both future emotional states of being; ie, “I shall go mad.” as well as determined future events of physical action; ie “I shall travel the black sea”. We have used ‘will’ in second and third-person circumstances; ie, “They will arrive shortly.” and in commands such as “You will open Renfield’s cell door immediately!” The script has been carefully culled to insure this consistency in usage. Any deviation from the above rule is unintentional and an oversight. In the end, what is important is clarity of ideas. Whether an actor says “shall” or “will” in a given circumstance should never yield any significant consequence to the story being told.
Sanguis enim eorum pro anima.
ACT I
Scene Breakdown
1 “The Golden Krone”
2 “A Garden Cemetery”
3 “The Castle Dracula”
4 “Madness, Examined”
5 “Twas a Rough Night”
6 “Dance Card”
7 “Voyage of the Demeter”
8 “Escape”
9 “Servitude”
10 “The Beast with Two Backs”
11 “A Strange Fever”
(10-Minute Intermission)
Scene 1
“The Golden Krone”
[Bistriz, Romania – 1893]
(At rise we see the exterior of the Golden Krone Hotel, Bistriz. 1893. There is low-lying fog creeping about, an azure blue by the light of the moon. Mysterious music of instrumental nature eases in with lights. Innkeeper’s Wife, Innkeeper, and Jonathan
Harker enter the scene in music. The Innkeeper carries Jonathan’s suitcase, while Jonathan carries his own valise. They step out in front of the Hotel to wait for the arrival of a carriage. In spite of the hour, a few villagers gather and look on with curiosity.)
INNKEEPER’S WIFE
Herr Englishman, have you enjoyed your stay at the Hotel Golden Krone?
HARKER
A delightful place. Thank you.
INNKEEPER
You have traveled a great distance, yes? And still you have far to go?
HARKER
Well, my travels began in Munich on the first of April. And as you know, I arrived in Bistriz last night. A shorter journey awaits me now. The coach is to arrive soon, in order that I may reach my final destination before dawn.
INNKEEPER
And to where does your business take you?
HARKER
I will be traveling to Bukovina, and on through the Borgo Pass. Deeper into the foothills of the Carpathians and then upward to the higher peaks.
INNKEEPER
The Carpathians?
HARKER
Yes.
INNKEEPER’S WIFE
Where, in the Carpathians?
HARKER
To the Castle Dracula.
(The Innkeeper, wife, and villagers make the sign of the cross.)
INNKEEPER’S WIFE
Dracula?
HARKER
What do you know of Count Dracula?
INNKEEPER
We must go now, Sir.
HARKER
But, wait! Tell me,… What is it that disturbs you so?
INNKEEPER’S WIFE
We wish to speak no further. If you know what is good for you, you will turn ‘round and go back from whence you came. Do you understand?
Dracula of Transylvania: The Epic Play in Three Acts Page 2
