Dracula Before and After

Let us talk about Taproot's production of Dracula.

All in all, a fun exploration of a really well-plumbed text.

SO this was a very good adaptation of a very hard text.

Like I said in my previous post, adaptation is very difficult.

This one tickled a lot of fun buttons for me.

• love and loss
• sacrifice as the counter to evil
• the spreading of foreign power into the English home

It was an incredibly fun night at the theatre.

My partner and I showed up for the theatre late. Per usual.

It isn't that we intend to be late, far from it, we always intend to be early.

We get lost.

Every time.

One time in New York, I set out for An Octoroon two hours before it was set to start at SoHo Rep.

She brought me here...I think:

My New York friend walked me thirty city blocks and then took me to the wrong theatre. (Tiaja Sabrie...I forgive you)

I rushed to the right train from the wrong theatre and got on it to wind up here:

This gorgeous space.

For those not in the know, let me google that for you here.

So it was a bit of a hike.

And it was showtime.

So I made it...late.

And as I walked in, every single member of the lobby crew looked at me with disdain.

I ran from the fucking train station eight blocks to get there as quickly as I could.

Winded and tired and missing the first monologue, which is brilliant by the way, I am greeted with nothing short of contempt.

"You'll have to wait here," they said. And looked at me like I was scum.

Fuck you!
But, I bowed my head and waited.
The lady who brought me into the theatre was adorable though.
She explained what a light lock was (an area to prevent outside light enter the theatre space during performance and preserve the 'illusion').

Point being, it isn't my fault we are late.
But, we arrived late.

IT WAS GORGEOUS.
But, locked.
We knocked on the door and they informed us they were the cafe and to circle round to the theatre.
So we circled round another half block and
IT WAS GORGEOUS
But, locked.
We hastily knocked on the door and the sweetest page let us in.
They asked if we reserved, we said no.
They asked if we reserved online, we said no.
They asked if we had will call, we said no.
Finally, they appreciated we were purchasing tickets.
We flashed our (almost) expired student ids and we got in for $15.
Kids, I am about to tell you something important, so listen carefully.
LISTEN.
NEVER and I mean NEVER GIVE UP YOUR STUDENT IDS.
Renew them every year you can.
Make sure they look like you.
Go to grad school (if it is free).
Because it is almost worth the student debt for the student rates.
Trust me on this.
Okay.
So we got in for the lowest rates in the cheapest seats, which would have been obstructed view of the set.
But, we got there late, you see.
So we got the comfy seats in the back reserved for the disabled and latecomers.
SCORE.

So this is their space.
Two levels of seating.
The second level doesn't have a banister, instead it has that cool glass thing so you can see the stage and rest of the audience.
Stage is three-quarter thrust.
Sets are relegated to the backstage area.
Acting is mostly forward.
Even when the actors came through the aisles at the corners of the forestage, they had to basically wait until they were onstage because the upstairs balcony prevents seeing that space.
So all in all, a very interesting and fun space to see theatre, not very dynamic as far as staging goes:

• in order to be seen you have to turn out
• in order to be seen you have to come out from under the balcony
• in order to be seen you can't be on the second floor

Some pretty serious limitations for actors and director alike.

I sympathize.

The show was lifted text from Stoker's Dracula adapted by the playwright Nathan Jeffrey and the director in a two year collaboration.

It featured some wonderful performances, from the actors playing Harker (the set-upon Englishmen, losing his wits, but not his love), Mina (the surprisingly capable and willful damsel in distress who saves herself in the climax of the piece was a lovely surprise, especially her climactic monologue that caused goosebumps in the audience), Count Dracula (aptly performed that emulated the original Transylvanian archetype (performed by Bela Lugosi) walking a fine line between camp and melodrama, which was lovely), but most notable of all: van Helsing (performed as a kindly father figure to every character in the play, but poignantly feels the loss of his own son, the play's structure is meant to be a conveyance to the son of his father's sacrifice).

So sacrifice and father's and sons were the biggest, most glaring themes to my eyes.
No real jump scares to speak of save for a fun moment where the Count is discovered in his crypt by Harker (before the vampire reveal).
Harker finds the Count lying as if dead, no breath to speak of, and as he leans in, the Count's hand shoots out to a special that illuminates just that spot.
I heard someone scream in that moment.
That was probably the best scare in the show.

Mina's final monologue was probably the most meaningful moment in the play.
It gathered all of the themes that had been laid out:

• The stake is pulled from the tree
• The garlic is crushed
• The holy water that represents blood is sprinkled
• Everything sacrifices to protect those they love

Therefore: Only sacrifice may overcome the Count.

It establishes as the quite literal anti-Christ.

Instead of giving blood, he takes it. 

Instead of letting others live forever, he lives forever.

This was a really beautiful moment where Mina's sacrificial love overcomes the Count.

For some reason no one in the audience got it.

We stayed for the talkback after the show and we got that she was in the right and the Count was in the wrong.
We got that she was spitting some truth. 

But, it was lost on us somehow. 

Something about the way it was phrased: the blood, sacrifice is the key, evil, devil vampire...

Yeah...we lost it somehow.

I'm sorry.

The most surprising through line though was the structure of the piece.

The performance of van Helsing as a fatherly mentor type figure is unsurprising.

But, he wasn't gruff, at a distance ever, which makes his estranged relationship with his son seem so implausible upon further reflection.

You have to understand: this actor exudes fatherly love.

If there was a benevolent father-god in the course of the universe, he was like this van Helsing.

He was sweet and clever and proud, but felt the depth of his failings with so much pain that you couldn't help but reach out and comfort the man.

And then he dies! 

Without ever seeing his son again!

And his last wish, his last wish! Guys! Was that his son know how much he loves him! How he wished he could have been a better father.

*tears*

And then, and then! They dedicate their letters and correspondence to van Helsing's son.

It was very, very lovely.

Finally, we stayed for the talkback.

It was lovely.

We spoke with the director mostly. 

He talked about how once upon a time there was a map of Europe on the ground with arrows spreading like blood out from Romania to England.

Talk about a clear parallel.

I think that one jumped the shark though. I was happy to hear about it and that nature eventually cut the choice for the actual performance (it was worn away by the actors' shoes. Go figure)

Because Dracula has some very clear themes of foreign, forceful sensuality/sexuality coming in and invading, taking good, stalwart British land/ladies from their rightful homes and "changing" them.

It was...disturbing to recognize that as an adult.

But, to then also draw a clear parallel to nationalism, particularly German-influenced WWII maps.

I was uncomfortable with it.

So that's it. 

Those are some impressions.

I feel bad about how long that took.

Maybe I will talk about that in my next post.