By BRAD MERK ’14
This year’s fall play was a presentation of Dracula. This wasn’t your typical grim, violent, and outrageous outing of Dracula. Instead, it had an intriguing mix of humor and chills.
The general premise was about a psychologist Arthur Seward (John Berner ’14), a groom-to-be Jonathan Harker (Peter Jones ’15), and the infamous Van Helsing (Kadeem Yorke ’13) in their quest to realize that the new neighbor, Dracula (Jacob Biesiada ’13), is, in a shocking turn of events, a vampire after the blood of bride-to-be Mina Murray (Chelsea Des Rosiers).
The play’s first two acts have a more cheery feel with an undertone of eeriness that coats the background. Dracula brings the main plot to the forefront when he’s later introduced in the first act. He is delightful to view but doesn’t display a traditional character presentation of Dracula. We don’t know if we’re supposed to laugh or be terrified of him. It’s never entirely clear whether this is intentional or accidental.
As the play moves along it’s rather obvious it is trying to transition to a more classical Draculean feel. As the three main protagonists come to realize that they and their guests are in utter danger we never truly feel the dread and despair that would be appropriate at this point. The final act and the performances try their best to go along with the transitioning atmosphere but as an audience it is difficult to try and connect to this change. A cheap-looking bat and a conclusion that rushes to the end doesn’t help this awkward vision.
Spotlight performances include David Faust (’15) as the crazy psycho ward patient Renfield who brings phenomenal energy to the stage and is creatively toyed with when brought under the spell of Dracula. Another fascinating performance comes from Sybil Seward (Elizabeth Young) who plays a comedic role as the sister of Arthur Seward (who puts up a solid performance as the \”normal”
