By Katrina “Kat” Reynolds
DRACULA presented by Cincinnati Playhouse in the park through March 3. I attended the Opening Night performance.
The cast of DRACULA. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.
It’s no secret: I love the fable of Dracula. I have seen many iterations of the original novel on both screen and stage and am always open to new and exciting interpretations of the age-old text. Therefore, I was thrilled to be in attendance to see the World Premiere of Dracula on the stage of Moe and Jack’s Place (The Rouse Theatre) at Playhouse in the Park.
Penned and directed by Vanessa Severo along with Playhouse’s Associate Artistic Director Joanie Schultz, this isn’t Legosi’s Dracula. Right off the bat (no pun intended), I was intrigued by the creative alterations which challenged gender norms of the early 20th century. It is easy to wonder, however, if having someone uninvolved in the writing process might have given a different pulse to the action on stage. While the pacing is steady and watchable, the energy is very one-note.
The creative team behind this production deserves every possible word of praise one can muster. Set Designer Yu Shibagaki gives us a beautifully crafted set with moving pieces and incredible attention to detail. Each adaptation of the set can be easily navigated by the actors and tells its own story. Not to be outdone, costume designs by Kathleen Galdard are some of the most stunning works of art you will see on the human body. (Spoiler alert: if I owned the gown Mrs. Westenra dons in the latter portion of the show, I’d not ever take it off.) Complementing the aesthetic of the set and costumes is lighting design by Pablo Santiago and magic/illusion designs by Nate Dendy. No spoilers here, but their contributions create some impressive and memorable moments.
Dracula boasts a strong and mighty ensemble of performing artists. It is an embarrassment of riches to find it difficult to choose only one or two to mention by name, but that is an excellent problem for a reviewer to have. While we do not see nearly enough of what he can offer, Adam Poss is disarmingly charming as the titular Count. He commands the stage effortlessly and could easily cause the most stoic audience member to blush. (It’s me – I’m that audience member.)
It is disappointing Mr. Poss does not get to share any scenes with his devoted familiar Renfield, portrayed by Hamon dot aut. Renfield is a character of whom I’m nearly as fond as I am of Dracula and there have been many impressive portrayals of the attorney-turned-bloodservant. Mx. dot aut’s performance is right up with one of the most innovative and intoxicating.
While I hesitate to critique new works as I fear it might dissuade our community from trying to present them, it must be mentioned that the script certainly needs some work. In fact, I would even suggest a change in the title to Van Helsing as this is far more a tale about the vampire “hunter” than anyone else. The spin put on the character of Van Helsing is a genius move and it deserves to be the center of the piece – but that isn’t what your audience will be expecting when they arrive to see a show named Dracula. Further, I believe many key elements of suspense and dread were glossed over because the playwrights relied too heavily on the fact that everyone already knows the story of Dracula, so why discuss important background? While we definitely saw the charm and hypnotic appeal of the titular character, we saw very little to no reason to fear him and that is a huge loss.
As mentioned before, this is not Legosi’s Dracula: the non-male characters outnumber the male characters in a series of creative twists (although one or two too many variations are introduced and it feels a bit agenda-driven). I believe with some slight reworking and zhuzhing, the obvious intention of female empowerment can be fleshed out and Dracula (or Van Helsing) will have the bite it is currently lacking.
Click here for more information on the production.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 