The Nocturne Theatre Sinks its Fabulous Fangs into the Bloody Fun "Dracula: The Musical"

Lucy (Kelly Krippendorf) is under the spell of Dracula (Justin Meyer) in the Nocturne Theatre production of Frank Wildhorn's "Dracula: The Musical"

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Wednesday, August 20th, Los Angeles, CA

wriiten by Entertainment Editor, Dan Ruth

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When I first saw the advertisements and postings for Dracula: The Musical at the Nocturne Theatre in Glendale, I first noted that they were quite slick and well produced, and was hoping, as one might, that the production would live up to the advertising. After all, theatre that can seem slick on screen, still has the chance to fall flat on stage. Well, make no mistake, Dracula: The Musical does not suck. It is undead, living in Glendale and is an absolute scream. Before I continue with more vampire humor, it bears mentioning that when Dracula: The Musical opened on Broadway in 2004, its run was short. Frank Wildhorn, known for creating the music for The Civil War and his most prized possessions, Jekyll and Hyde and The Scarlet Pimpernel, wrote the music to Dracula: The Musical, which opened amid much Broadway vampire mania, with fang-themed musicals at every turn. Even though I missed the Broadway productions of both Lestat and Dracula: The Musical, I was lucky, or unlucky, depending on how you see it, to see Dance of the Vampires with music by Jim Steinman of Meat Loaf‘s Bat Out of Hell fame, the year prior. That musical offering was so wretched, unnecsessarly serious and so embarrassingly bad, that we had to flee the theater at intermission, run across the street to Sardi’s to pound back several cocktails before returning to the theater only to be yelled at by an elderly usherette dressed in a vampire cape, who told us that we had to “stop making fun of Michael Crawford, because he’s the star of the show.” Where Dance of the Vampires misses the boat altogether, luckily for this Los Angeles audience, Dracula: The Musical, pulls up squarely, rats in the hold and all, with campy fun and outstanding singing voices, to the Nocturne Theatre and it’s not to be missed.

The Nocturne Theatre transforms this supposedly luke-warm musical into a sexy, sleek, post-punk goth-stylized sensation, which, at least the night I saw it, left its audience screaming for more. Perhaps the reason it works so well is because the book/lyric team of Don Black & Christopher Hampton offer up a relatively faithful retelling of Bram Stoker’s original story, and chances are the story is already familiar, which frees up the audience to sit back and sink their fangs into a musical version without much difficulty.

If by some rare chance, you are not aware of this iconic story, allow me some spoilers.

It’s clear from first lights up, that this production at least, is an homage to Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula starring Gary Oldman. The doltishly innocent Jonathan Harker sets out for Castle Dracula, so that this Dracula person can sign the deeds to an abbey in London, which happens to be right next to an insane asylum. Nothing suspect there. Enter Dracula, in a white wig that can only be described as a cross between a swan and a giant powdered donut. He proceeds to pounce upon the neck of poor Mr. Harker, discovers a photo of Harker’s lover Mina, and decides she’s the gal for him. So, Dracula feeds on Harker and leaves him to fend for himself in his castle full of smokin’ hot female vampires who double as aerial silk acrobats, while he in turn, makes his way to London to seek out his new gal pal. The secondary characters discover that Mina’s bestie Lucy, has been bitten and corrupted by the undead and panic begins to take hold. Take all of this, add a vampire killer named Van Helsing, a fly and rodent-eating crack pot named Renfield, set it all to a rock "ish" musical score and you have Dracula: The Musical.

So what makes Dracula: The Musical rise above? Well, it might not be the score per se. Played with much perfection by the Nocturne Theatre “Dracula Band,” the score does have its moments and serves its purpose, moving the story along at a clip, but too few songs catch the ear. While you might not leave the theater humming all of the tunes, you might leave the theater with either a smile on your face or a sore stomach from laughing. What makes Dracula: The Musical work so well is the cast of stellar performers, under the direction of Justin Meyer, who doubles as the dreaded vampire master, himself. Unlike Dance of the Vampires, this show is in on the joke. Dracula: The Musical is a lot of fun to experience without becoming too serious, and while the musical is entertaining as written, it’s the cast that breaths fresh life into this musical, making it a more than satisfying meal for any vampire lover, goth, blood sucker or curious musical theatre patron in the Los Angeles area. It also needs to be mentioned that the Nocturne Theatre has taken hold in one of the coolest theatre spaces around, one that would be the envy of any Off-Broadway theatre in New York City. Performed in the round with a spectacular sound system, Dracula: The Musical stops at nothing to transform the space into a vampire lair fit for the Prince of Darkness (sorry Ozzy). Utilizing every square inch of the blood-splattered space to heighten the audience experience, Meyer and team Dracula bring this show to life with state-of-the-art theatre tech, wildly heightened, fantastical costumes by Tanya Cyr and dazzling lighting, also designed by Mr. Meyer. 

Now, onto the main course: this delicious cast. Justin Meyer’s Dracula, whose entrances are always punctuated by clouds of mysterious fog (as they should be) is an absolute sensation. As he feeds his way through the characters, the devilishly handsome Meyer’s white fright wig gives way to long, blonde hair as he begins to regain his youthful appearance. It should also be noted that it’s beyond refreshing to hear the powerful Meyer just as at home in quieter numbers, while also playing the piano in his vampire lair and if he’s not, then kudos to stage magic for making it seem so. Meyer sports a powerful pitch-perfect voice, as does Samantha Rose as Mina. There is a true chemistry between the two and Rose holds nothing back, “Please Don’t Make Me Love You” is a stand-out. Kelly Krippendorf plays Lucy to the hilt, crafting a character who is well-defined and mesmerizing, as she sings her way through her possible suiters “How Do I Choose” and then into “The Mist,” arguably one of the musical’s most hauntingly beautiful songs. Jonathan (AJ Castro) shines with “Before the Summer Ends” and Jack Seward (Christian Lees), Arthur Holmwood (Tyler Angier) and Quincey Morris (Truman Bjarke) as the male interests in Dracula: The Musical, all more-than hold their own, and each has a chance to shine, along with Van Helsing, played by J.D. Wallis, whose flamboyant and eccentric performance gives more than just a slight nod to Anthony Hopkins. But the masterfully over-the-top award goes deservedly to Andrew Diego, who’s insect-like Renfield leaves no fly, mouse, rat or piece of scenery unchewed, as he riffs his way into the theatre through the voms, into the audience and into our hearts. Diego’s energy and sense of comedy is just what the doc...I mean just what the vampire ordered, giving this production and in turn, this audience, license to have an absolute blast. Abhaya Krishnan-Jha, Lisa-Marie Burnside, Rachel Fictum and Kimberly Butler as the four Vampiress singers and silk aerialists, are all to be commended, what they achieve here is no small feat; they take on a difficult task and make it look simple and hauntingly beautiful.

Dracula: The Musical isn’t perfect, and does seem to run on fumes toward the end, but overall, it is powerful fun in the professional hands of a theatre company that knows how to satisfy its audience. Shame that this show isn’t playing well past Halloween, I would rise from my crypt to see it again. Get your tickets now, folks, before the blood runs dry. Dracula: The Musical continues at The Nocturne Theatre, 324 North Orange Street, Glendale, CA. through August 31st.s

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