BRATTLEBORO — When Shoot the Moon presents a beloved (if chilling) classic Halloween tale, Dracula, the old becomes new and the new is actually old.
A group of actors is continuing its annual Halloween-themed performance series with a dramatic adaptation of the time-honored Dracula. But this familiar story will get a fresh spin in the new adaptation of the classic Bram Stoker novel by the production's director, Joshua Moyse.
On Oct. 23 and 24, and Oct. 29 through 31, at 7:30 p.m., the Hooker-Dunham Theater in Brattleboro will present the iconic tale of fangs, bats, and blood.
While Shoot the Moon may have recently formed to become the resident theater company of Hooker-Dunham, where it plans to stage three theatrical productions each year, most of the people involved with this Dracula were also on hand for last year's Halloween staging of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Moyse, who was also adaptor and director of that production, confesses that he was not sure how successful Jekyll would be.
“We thought maybe only a dozen or show folks would show up,” he says.
However, the show turned out to be a hit. Audiences seemed to love the irreverent and playful retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror story.
“After last year's success, we decided to be more ambitious,” says Moyse. “I first read Dracula 15 years ago and, in addition to being struck by how scary it was, I was curious about how one could develop scenes from its structure.”
Moyse says the staging of Stoker's 19th century novel turned out to be more involved than previous productions, not only because he adapted a full-length book versus a novella or short story, but because this novel is actually quite unusual. The events are conveyed not in a straightforward fashion by a narrator, but rather through letters, articles, journal entries and other documents.
“In many ways, it is a more modern-style novel than we generally expect from a late-19th century book,” Moyse adds.
Written in 1897 by Irish-born Stoker, Dracula is a Gothic horror novel, a genre of fiction which had its heyday in the earlier part of the 19th century. The literary vampire first appeared in 18th century poetry, before becoming one of the stock figures of Gothic fiction with the publication of Polidori's The Vampyre (1819), which was inspired by the life and legend of Lord Byron. Later influential works include the penny dreadful Varney the Vampire (1847) and Sheridan Le Fanu's tale of a lesbian vampire, Carmilla (1872). There is even Der Vampyr (1828), a Romantic opera in two acts by Heinrich Marschner that is still popular in Germany.
However, Moyse says he believes that if Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form. Dracula is considered the masterpiece of the genre. The novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film, and television interpretations.
Moyse says, “Stoker's novel was successful enough in its time, but what really cemented Dracula's legend was the 1931 Universal film starring Bela Lugosi that was based on the 1924 stage play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is loosely based on Stoker's novel.”
Dracula tells the story of the infamous count's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
“Virtually every line in this adaptation is straight out of Stoker's novel,” says Moyse.
However, that book is over 400 pages, so a lot had to be edited and condensed for a two-hour entertainment. Some changes have been made from traditional versions.
Much like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde last year, this production will have a mixture of tones.
“We want to be playful with the work,” he says. “Some parts will be a campy send-up of the material. But, at the same time, we want the play to be a thrilling and horrifying entertainment. A lot of blood will be spilled.”
Standing in for the book's transcontinental landscape, Moyse will employ two motifs of popular entertainment during the author's era: The Garden Party and Vaudeville.
“The cast engages in games of badminton and acts of ventriloquism, among other activities one would experience in either of these settings,” says Moyse.
The cast will wear modern clothes, and everyone will be dressed in white. Updating the show is partly economic, because the company cannot afford Victorian costumes. But there is fun in switching time and location, which offers interesting possibilities for the production.
“It isn't my goal to make the narrative fit the setting, but rather explore how the scene translates the story,” Moyse says. “There will be a lot of selfies taken in this show,”
Moyse says that the production may not be suitable for children under 13. “We expect the Vaudeville moments in particular to be slightly unnerving,” he adds.
John Ogorzalek plays Count Dracula, the Transylvanian noble and vampire. Skyler Heathwaite plays Jonathan Harker, a solicitor sent to do business with Count Dracula. Jennifer Moyse will be Mina Harker, a schoolteacher and Jonathan Harker's fiancée.
Xoe Perra plays Lucy Westenra, Mina's best friend and Dracula's first victim. The director of Hooker Dunham, Jon Mack, plays Dr. Van Helsing, a Dutch professor and vampire hunter, and Colin Grube will be Dr. Seward, a former student of Van Helsing.
Finally, Josh Goldstein plays Renfield, the lawyer who has lost his wits after meeting Dracula. The cast will also play multiple supporting roles. Alastair Follansbee serves as stage manager for the production.