Theatre 68 resurrects Dracula for Halloween
Good news, fright fans! Theatre 68 will be back this Halloween – not with the late, lamented Theatre 68 Haunted House but with a new “classic yet contemporary” stage adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, written by Jayce Johnson, directed by Sophia Watt, and produced by Ronnie Marmo.
The play promises to be “sexy, dramatic, and haunting.” According to the official plot synopsis: “Madness sexuality and power explode onto the stage in this new deranged and horror-filled adaption of Dracula. Renfield fights for her sexual freedom, Lucy struggles against her mother’s expectations and her own growing hysteria, and Mina Murray is left standing alone in the wreckage of the 19th century facing the man offering her both liberation and death.”
Theatre 68 crew operated their haunted house in Hollywood until they lost their lease after the Halloween 2012 season. In 2013 the presented a rousing version of Leif Gantvoort’s horror-comedy The Afflicted, at the NoHo Arts Center, where Dracula will also be staged. Hollywood Gothique is very happy to see them back in action this Halloween season.
After a preview on Thursday, September 24, Dracula runs from September 25 through November 1, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and on Sundays at 7pm.
The address for the NoHo Arts Center is 11136 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, 91601. The official website is here.
Tickets are $25 in advance. Get more info at theatre68.com.
Trivia: This is the second adaptation of Dracula at the NoHo Arts Center since Hollywood Gothique began covering sinister entertainment in Los Angeles. Read about the previous effort here.
Check out the press release:
LOS ANGELES – (August 26, 2015) – Ronnie Marmo is proud to produce the New York smash Halloween horror, “DRACULA” – Adapted of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel, by Jayce Johnson, after a highly successful 2014 run in New York City. Delving into the depths of women’s suffrage and the violent culture that oppressed them, the Los Angeles production will also be directed by Sophia Watt, for the LA Premiere of this adaption. Opening at Theatre 68 @ NoHo Arts Center on September 25th, 2015.
ABOUT DRACULA
A 19th Century Drama that struggles with madness, sexuality and power will explode onto the LA stage in this new bloody, sexy and horror-filled adaption of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire Dracula novel. Renfield fights for her sexual freedom, Lucy struggles against her mother’s expectations and her own growing hysteria, and Mina Murray is left standing alone in the wreckage of the19th century facing the man offering her both liberation and death.
MORE ABOUT THIS PRODUCTION
Though the magnetism of Bram Stoker’s titular vampire is undeniable, what struck us most upon revisiting the story was the profound fear of female power and sexuality at the heart of it. Dracula was written at a time when the emergence of the New Woman and women’s suffrage was threatening to erode the strictly enforced gender roles of the age. Sadly, in a time and place where these practices are often thought of as antiquated and Victorian, restrictive notions of femininity are still very present in our society. The denial of reproductive rights, the Madonna-whore paradigm, rape culture, the violence inflicted on women in modern media, and the impossible beauty standards and body-shaming we impose on young women; these are all ways our society continues to control female bodies and the opportunities permitted to women. What Dracula does is lay these bear and expose the undying horrors that continue to haunt us.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM
- Jayce Johnson – Playwright (Adapted from Original Bram Stoker’s Dracula)
- Sophia Watt – Director
- Ronnie Marmo – Producer
- Haunted Ghost – Composer and Sound Design
- Danny Cistone – Set Design
- Sophia Watt – Costume Design
- Paul McGee – Lighting Designer
- Emily Juliani – Stage Manager
THE CAST
- Robert Homer Mollohan “Dracula”
- David Caprita “Van Helsing”
- Jordan Wall “Jonathan”
- Rachel Zink “Mina”
- Ariel Hart “Lucy”
- Diego Maureira “Arthur”
- Kenneth James “Quincey”
- Perry Smith “Mrs. Westenra”
- Kristin Lerner “Renfield”
- Jude Evans “Dr. Seward”
- Anna Yosin “Succubi”
- Isabel Wagner “Succubi”
- Kara Gibson “Succubi”
- Caroline Henry “Succubi”
