By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
Count Dracula’s reputation as a figure of horror has been in decline. Subject to decades of spoofs, the archetypal vampire struggles to inspire the same crucifix-clutching screams. His garlic allergy and gothic mantle are hard to take seriously these days.
Actors Collaborative Toledo’s latest production makes the case that it’s absolutely better this way.
ACT will perform Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” this weekend, Oct. 16-18, under the direction of John DuVall. Performances will take place at the Toledo Center for Live Arts, 4747 Heatherdowns Road. Click here to purchase tickets.
“Dracula” is a comedy à la Mel Brooks’s “Young Frankenstein”— think zany characters, absurd jokes, and near-constant send ups. The story is loosely based on Bram Stoker’s original tale, mostly just to borrow character names. It’s apparent right from the pre-show curtain speech that some creative liberties have been taken.
Let’s begin with Count Dracula himself, played by the drag king Justin Case (Thea Grabiec). Our villainous seductor is the kind of bored rich guy who, having ascended mortality itself, has nothing better to do than buy five houses in London. His cruel apathy turns to passion when he learns of Lucy Westenra (Laura Kelly), his real estate agent’s fiancée. Jonathan Harker (Sid Grohowski), the fiancé, might take offense to this if he weren’t equal parts clueless and cowardly. He’s astonished that someone as brilliant and adventurous as Lucy agreed to marry him. Opposites attract, but so do leather-clad vampires.
Lucy’s many suitors are a frequent point of jealousy for her sister Mina (Floyd Anderson). Mina is the fascinating combination of undesirable yet doggedly persistent, propositioning any and every man that enters her family’s estate.
This makes for disaster when Dracula makes his flamboyant entrance (which is also every entrance). When Mina falls ill of a “mysterious illness,” her incompetent father (John Toth) is powerless to help. The estate’s servant staff, Renfield and Kitty (Dannie Ellis), also fall into Dracula’s clutches. Or rather, they hop over the better-paying employer.
Cue VanHelsing (Jenna Jansa), a very German doctor, who gets the gang pointed in the right direction. They enter in hot pursuit of Dracula, stepping on rakes and slipping on banana peels the whole way.
For a script so full of jokes, never once does “Dracula” feel bogged down. By trimming down on plot and drama, the play has been optimized for efficiency like a pinewood derby car dad took the lead on. All laughing gas, no brakes. That said, the greatest strength of this clown car is the actors driving it. With half of the cast being regular performers in Toledo’s improv comedy scene, the comedy is delivered with confidence.
Even the most straight-laced characters, Lucy and VanHelsing, deliver some of the most satisfying laughs. Kelly and Jansa play the roles with disarming patience, making their gags pack an extra wallop. In a moment where Jonathan waxes poetic for way too long, VanHelsing waits a perfect beat before offering a stoic “Okay.”
The simple jokes land even harder because of how bombastic most everything else is. Take Jeremy Natter, who plays a number of small roles throughout the show. Even though they’re all single-use, he animates each with unrelenting goofy liveliness. The ship bosuns, gravediggers, and carriage drivers of this world all become indispensable thanks to his refusal to phone it in.
On top of that, we have two drag stars (Grabiec, of course, but also Anderson, A.K.A. Deja D. Dellataro) intimately familiar with how to work a crowd. The two complement each other well; Grabiec commands and dominates, Anderson pleads and submits. Dracula’s morbidly serious countenance is balanced against a character so absurdly desperate there’s no room for shame.
In short, an unstoppable top meets an unmovable bottom. It’s a genuine delight to see so many people in touch with their silly side. Leave the pitchforks. and garlic at home—joining the unholy ranks of the undead has never seemed more fun.
