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Bram
Stoker’s Dracula
Written by Hamilton Dean and
John L. Balderston
Conceived and directed by
Ken Sawyer
The very first screen Count
Dracula that comes to mind
is Bela Lugosi, who bared
his fangs and scared the
world. Next, in a TV film,
came Jack Palance, offering
a more sympathetic, even
pitiable perspective of the
man doomed to roam the
streets at night for all
eternity, as the leader of
the undead. Then in the late
70s Frank Langella portrayed
the infamous Count on stage
and film, painting a much
more romantic side. Bram
Stoker, after all, wrote
about the power of love, and
in the newest stage version
of the classic Dracula at
the No Ho Arts Center,
directed meticulously by Ken
Sawyer, it is love that
reverberates and perseveres.
For any one that does not
know the story, rent one of
the aforementioned movies,
as my intent is to talk
about the production values
of this new Dracula. Set in
Whitby, England in the1920s
at a mental asylum and its
surroundings, there is
abundant opportunity
presented by the script to
display vast, dark, gothic
interior and exterior
spaces. The NoHo Arts Center
with its expansive stage and
wide open space in which
entrances and exits may be
made from the back as well
as the front, including
movement down and up stairs
through the audience,
provides the perfect
theatrical ambiance. Aided
by the brilliant ingenuity
of scenic designer Desma
Murphy and lighting designer
Luke Moyer, the entire space
becomes the living,
breathing demonic playground
of Count Dracula. Renfield
(a very nimble Alex Robert
Holmes) scales the entire
stage wall and cavorts high
up on the outer ledge of an
upper story window - which
appears much farther up than
it actually is - as does
intern Butterworh (Chad Coe,
lending a subtle creepiness
to a supporting character).
This is but one example of
how well the space and set -
a principal character here -
enrich the visual
experience. Sawyer’s
imaginative staging, making
use of every crook and
cranny of the large space,
is fascinating, as are the
prolonged silent pauses that
he allows in the action. The
actors move in silence, and
then, as if from nowhere
there are instantaneous,
terrifying moments like the
sudden appearance of an
undead child surrounded by a
burst of burning light in a
hall window.
Let me add that the love
scene between Dracula and
Lucy is deliciously
sensuous, as is Dracula’s
opening seduction of Mina in
the nude.
The entire cast is solid,
including the before
mentioned Holmes and Coe,
Robert Arbogast,
underplaying Dracula, Joe
Hart as Van Helsing, Karessa
McElheny as Dr. Seward,
Darcy Jo Martin as Lucy, J.
R. Mangels as Jonathan
Harker, Tahni DeLong, making
the maid Wells interesting
to watch and lovely Mara
Marini as Mina.
This entire production is a
treat – one of the best
Draculas I’ve seen - due
mainly to the splendid
creative team led by Ken
Sawyer’s artful vision.
Parental guidance is
suggested due to partial
nudity.
 Don
Grigware is an Ovation
nominated actor with The
Road Theatre Company who
inaugurated Behind the
Scenes Theatre Chit Chat for
the former Metro LA
(previously NoHo LA) during
a six-year stint as theatre
editor. His favorite
hobbies? “Interviewing LA
theatre and cabaret folk,
being center stage and,
above all, eating Italian
food - between diets, of
course!”
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