Angels in American, Part 2: Perestroika

Billy Porter and Michael Urie

Tony Kushner’s monumental play took the theatrical world by storm when it emerged from the dissolving Reagan/Bush years. It was immediately produced worldwide and included in college text books. The seven hour two part “Gay Fantasia on National Themes” has been canonized the way DEATH OF A SALESMAN and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE have been––it’s that important and like those other classics continues to speak to the human condition in a contemporary and vivid way. Most of the original cast of this new Off Broadway revival at The Signature Theatre has been replaced, but there is no loss, for the current cast headed by Michael Urie (our friend from “Ugly Betty”) as Prior Walter is superb. This production is directed by Michael Greif and as far as the acting is concerned he has lead his cast to a tight and emotionally rich production. On the other hand, there is a cumbersome and muddled set, pushed and shoved around by visible stagehands in black and headsets, with an overlay of projected images to either establish locations or cover transitions. Visually, it’s all a bit of a mess. The Signature Theatre space is not large, yet large pieces of scenery have been squeezed onto that stage. I have seen this play in a college black box space with nothing but the essential furniture and it was every bit as effective. But, clunky scenery aside, the cast makes the show work and certainly Mr. Kushner has designed it to work whether it’s a Broadway spectacle, a community theater production, a college show or this Off Broadway edition. The play is funny, bombastic, romantic, horrifying, shocking, controversial and wildly entertaining. Part 2, with its two intermissions and three and a half hour length, actually seems just right. I felt as I did when I first saw it in the mid 1990s––that I could have seen both parts in one day with a dinner break with no problem. Time has not been unkind to this play all about the 1980s and the confusion of the AIDS crisis. This is the main theme, but the play opens up discussion about gay rights, coming out, dirty politics, religion, family relationships and history. Kushner takes the mythology inherent in religious stories and uses them to create his own contribution to those stories––the Gospel according to Kushner. In Kushner’s heaven, the angels are desperately trying to hold things together without God, because He left with the San Francisco earthquake and we had to fend for ourselves. The result was plenty of war, a hole in the ozone and a plague, among other things. Kushner wrestles with the twentieth century the way Prior Walter wrestles with his angel.

Adam Driver plays the key role of Louis. He is much stronger than the pathetic eternal suffering Louis of the excellent Mike Nichols film version for HBO. His scenes with Belize (Billy Porter) are up to their usual excellence. Billy Porter also makes the verbal wrestling matches with Frank Wood as the villain Roy Cohn a delicious feast. Bill Heck, who has stayed with the production from the beginning as Joe, the married Mormon who comes out to enter into a relationship with Louis, is straight and sturdy even as he crumbles into confusion and sadness. He represents that part of every gay man’s life when he struggles to find his footing as he comes out into an intolerant world. Louis is out, but carries the guilt of his Jewish upbringing. Prior is the most evolved as the unapologetic gay man who is completely at home in his own skin––even though his body is failing him. These three characters touch on the various stages of any gay man’s experience and we can empathize with all of them. There is also Hannah the mother (Lynne McCullough), who has her own erratic way of dealing with her son Joe’s coming out and his wife Harper (Keira Keeley) who is high on drugs in order to not have to deal with her mixed up marriage and contradictory Mormon upbringing. So many areas of life are touched upon that this “gay play” is actually more universal than most. Therein lies its success and its staying power. Every time I see it I always feel that I have spent my time particularly well.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Harry Potter turns it in! Daniel Radcliffe may forever be known as J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard, but he’s been branching out on Broadway––first in the drama EQUUS in 2008 and now in the Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert classic musical. Nothing up until now has prepared us for a singing and dancing Daniel Radcliffe, but sing he does with a suitable voice and dance he does with surprising skill and athleticism. The original J. Pierrpont Finch was the elfin embodiment of Robert Morse, filled with odd quirky business that had no explanation except for hilarity. On the other hand, for all of Morse’s clowning, he found the right moments to be real in an otherwise cartoon world. Matthew Broderick found his own unique brand of comic business along with surprising the world with his singing and dancing talents in the same way that makes Radcliffe a delight, but only thanks to the wit of the Pulitzer Prize winning book of this musical is Mr. Radcliffe funny. He is cute, he is ernest, he is a good sport to be tossed around by the much taller dancers of the company, but he has not found in Finch that strange and quirky character that Morse and Broderick unleashed and that makes the illogical nerve of the character seem plausible. Here we are to believe Finch is capable of propelling to the top of the ladder simply from the voice of Anderson Cooper giving him advise as the guide book of the show’s title. I have before always felt that Finch was somehow insane, causing that lack of judgment that would stop any sane man from actually trying the steps outlined in Shepherd Mead’s satire on big business circa 1960. Although Mr. Radcliffe may not be particularly distinctive as Finch, he comes with a kind of distinction by being the star of the most popular film franchise of the decade––we like him immediately and we want him to succeed. In the end he succeeds most admirably.

Rob Ashford is both director and choreographer, but is most confident when staging the numbers. However, inbetween the numbers the book scenes are muddy and the actors seem to meander. Jokes that high school students have pulled off don’t land and the general delivery of the book does not have that one-two-punch of the “New Yorker” style cartoons that is part of the territory of this show. We are early in previews now, so it is completely possible that the book scenes will clean up a bit. What won’t be improved is the general lack of character in this production’s cast. Luckily we know something of the original production because most of the Broadway talent also did the film (a decent film even if half the score was cut) and what we know is that the characters were CHARACTERS. They were big, they had bits, they had double takes, they could give a slow burn, and in that blown up world they were still credible. This was also the case with the last revival. With few exceptions the current cast does not compare. Is this Rob Ashford being afraid to truly take on the style of the show? I don’t think so because he manages it expertly during the numbers. It can only be the actors’ lack of know how in a kind of performance that may have been lost in the past twenty years or so. The folks that shine include Tammy Blanchard as Hedy La Rue who gives an original take on the dizzy dame sexpot. Rob Bartlett as both Mr. Twimble and Wally Womper pops as that old time character man that the show requires, making the other principal men seem quite dull. There is nothing in Nick Mayo’s Mr. Gatch or Michael Park’s Mr. Bratt to match the delight of Rob Bartlett’s performance––in fact their comic potential has been ignored.

John Larroquette makes his Broadway debut as J. B. Biggley and is appropriate, though he adds nothing special to the role, letting only the book do the very good job of supplying him with all the humor he really needs to succeed. When you consider the Bud Frumps of the past, Christopher J. Hanke isn’t the first person in the Broadway circle that comes to mind and although he is not offensive in the role, he has done nothing for it but accept the Sally Jesse Rafael glasses that costume designer Catherine Zuber has given him to wear. The red glasses are his character definition and he gets only half the comedy out of a character who is usually comic gold. Hanke’s Frump is a spoiled Ivy League golden boy and far too normal and bland to properly inhabit the world of the play. We are better off with the ladies. Rose Hemmingway makes a lovely Rosemary––she is just right and sings brightly. Mary Faber is an ideal Smitty, offering a nice contrast of character to Rosemary. Ellen Harvey has the right stature to succeed as Mrs. Jones and takes us back to the original production’s opera style break out solo during “Brotherhood of Man.”

For the most part, Rob Ashford’s musical numbers are what really hold the show together. Staged around a cubical wall of levels reminiscent of Gower Champion’s BYE BYE BIRDIE, Mr. Ashford manages some inventive surprises. There are times when he has over choreographed, such as the opening sequence of mid-century modern jazz dance set to the title song with Radcliffe in the middle of it all looking bewildered. Then there is the shock of tap dancing added to “Cinderella Darling,” which is glaringly out of place. On the other hand he develops “Grand Old Ivy” into a fantasy football game with the male chorus, who tosses Radcliffe tumbling in slow motion over their heads to great effect. There is the staging of “Been A Long Day” inside the elevator that becomes more crowded with every floor. “The Company Way” is choreographed to the routines of a mailroom and rises to the level of genius. Best of all there is the perfect staging of “Brotherhood of Man” with Radcliffe causing various groups to fall in line to an infectious dance that is precise and intricate and asks the young star to perform as well as the seasoned chorus behind him, which he does with perfection. The number is as rousing as Mr. Radcliffe is astonishing in it.

This revival is welcome and so is its star. It may not be perfectly directed, but it is great fun all the same. The youngsters might not get it and they certainly won’t hold any nostalgia for it––which is inevitably a part of its potential success. The young man sitting next to me said, “I think I saw this show recently and it was called PROMISES, PROMISES.” Yes the two shows cover some of the same ground (certainly similar wardrobes), but this one came first and it is a bona fied musical comedy classic of the first order. The material itself along with the capable star makes up for any other shortcomings the production may have.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

At The Joyce Theater, that premier venue for visiting dance companies, was the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet with a brand new piece, “Uneven.” Included in the program were two other pieces from the company’s repertory, “Stamping Ground” and “Red Sweet.” More modern dance than traditional ballet, this company formed in Colorado by Bebe Schweppe in 1996 and shared with Santa Fe (an unusual split residence arrangement) has risen to make annual visits in New York with its small ensemble of ten. “Uneven,” choreographed by Cayetano Soto, was a series of patterns and body contortions set to the live cello playing of Kimberly Patterson. The piece was about twenty minutes and the following intermission was just as long. When finally the curtain went up on “Stamping Ground,” choreographed by Jiri Kylián, the dancers emerged one by one to move through silence. As they joined each other they found synchronization without music or a beat to guide them. The series of animal-like movements began to grow tiresome until drumming came in to give the dance an exciting finish. “Stamping Ground” seemed like organized improvisation and felt like the kind of experimentation typical of young companies. Since the piece is from 1983, this makes sense. “Red Sweet,” Jorma Elo’s piece from 2008 was an involved and exciting dance, displaying the full range of talents of these seemingly super human dancers. Here were the turns, leaps and lifts of the classical ballet mixed with the company’s modern dance approach all set to the lively music of Vivaldi and Biber. I could have used an entire evening of that exhilarating stuff. In the end I realized (yet again), that the small modern ballet company on a bare stage with dancers in the simplest of black and white leotards just doesn’t do it for me. I long for the days of the Ballet Russes (which of course is before our time) and wonder why it is so rare to see that kind of dynamic and theatrical endeavor. Money is the main reason, but even for those companies that have the funds, it is still rare to see that kind of pioneering spirit that combines experimentation with new forms mixed with the art of design and a guiding theme that says something about humanity. This is not to say that small companies have not created ambitious and highly theatrical works on a small budget––they have, but we don’t see it too often. The easiest road is movement for movement’s sake and I have always looked for something more connected to human emotions than that––body mechanics alone are not enough.

The Joyce Theatre is another great example in New York of an old movie theater repurposed for improved use. This building was originally the Elgin Theatre of 1942. In the 1970s when the Elgin was reduced to triple X films, the neighborhood pressured for the theater’s closure by 1978. In the 1980s the theater was gutted to be turned into the current dance venue, though the original Moderne facade and marquee was restored.

CHICAGO 15 Years In

Bianca Marroquin

I lucked into a free ticket to CHICAGO, but then so many others did too. This performance was full of fans who won free tickets on Facebook. I did not win my ticket on Facebook, but rather someone else did and it was handed off to me, but there I was. I had seen the show twice on the road in Sacramento about twelve years ago and outside of the movie, haven’t thought about the show since. In fact, I would sometimes walk by the Ambassador Theatre and be re-surprised that CHICAGO was still running. This is quite an amazing success story when you consider this is a revival of a show that ran only two years the first time out. This production started as a City Center Encores! concert and is more or less exactly the same as that concert production with the lines memorized. The show is produced in the simplest way and yet it is as chic as a late 1990’s Vogue photo spread––a look that still holds up as sexy. The whole show holds up, even without a star stuck in to boost ticket sales. The low maintanence of the production accounts for some of its longevity.

Right now there is “nobody” in it. There is, however, a cast of talented people, most of whom have been in and out of the show for years––on the tour, Broadway and playing it in London. Bianca Marroquin as Roxy comes from the Mexico production originally and Leigh Zimmerman as Velma was in the opening night cast as “Kitty.” Zimmerman is long and fierce, is a beautiful dancer of the Fosse style and can really belt out her numbers. It took me a bit to warm up to Marroquin, but eventually found her to be quite clever and delighted in the way she found new original ways to deliver the old lines. Although she is short of stature, Marroquin kept up with Zimmerman all the way with high kicks and tremendous energy. Colman Domingo, lately from SCOTTSBORO BOYS, has taken over Billy Flynn. He may not be inspired, but he keeps the entertainment going. LaVon Fisher-Wilson tears it up as “Mama” Mortan and R. Lowe’s drag soprano is truly amazing for Mary Sunshine. The show is in top form, though it doesn’t seem nearly as fresh and exciting as it did a decade ago. A few of the long term chorus boys have put on a few pounds and are doughier than their revealing costumes allow. As a group, the chorus is not nearly as ferocious as they once were.

In the audience of this special performance were past cast members Chita Rivera, Uta Lemper and director Walter Bobbie. Seth Rudeski hosted a pre-show giveaway of prizes and everyone walked away with a t-shirt. This was the kind of performance where the songs received applause at the beginning of the numbers as well as the end. A theater full of devoted fans is not a bad crowd with which to pay another visit to CHICAGO!

Uta Lemper signing autographs outside of CHICAGO

John Gabriel Borkman

Henrik Ibsen’s play from 1896 has been newly translated by Frank McGuinness for Ireland's Abbey Theatre now in residence at BAM’s Harvey Theater. The production stars the always interesting Alan Rickman as Borkman and the fierce Fiona Shaw as his wife Gunhild, which is a pretty good start for a good production. Lindsay Duncan plays the third key role, Miss Ella Rentheim and she is equal to the task of bringing life to this century old play. The production, directed by James Macdonald, has a leisurely paced first act, which could have used a shot of energy and a stronger pace. Then came the second act, which was very lively indeed and contained ferocious scenes from the actors as well as the theatrically created snow storm in which half of it took place. Tom Pye’s set would be a bare stage with just the essential furniture pieces, save for the small mounds of snow surrounding the playing area. On stage it looked a lot like it did outside on the street. One of Gunhild’s early lines is “I am often cold” and this was immediately linked to her environment as well as her personality.

The story surrounds Borkman, who has suffered disgrace from a term in prison for embezzlement, and his wife Gunhild, who is dreaming up how to re-enter society. Both hold their grown son, Erhart (Marty Rae), as the way to restore the family name. Gunhild’s sister, Ella, arrives on the scene with only months to live and wants to find out from Borkman why he gave up true love with her to settle instead for an unhappy marriage to Gunhild. She half raised Erhart and so she would like him to live with her in her final days and take her name so that she will not be the last of her line. Erhart has other ideas and decides that while he is young he is only going to live for happiness and elopes with a divorcée (Cathy Belton)––ruining his family’s hope for social salvation. All through this little story-line there is quite a bit of humor, but by the final scene things become pretty dismal for all.

This was a worthwhile production, but it is only too bad that the first act did not match the variety and electricity of the second.

The Majestic before being saved by BAM

The BAM Harvey Theatre is a fascinating space with entirely uncomfortable seats. It is formerly the Brooklyn Majestic Theatre built in 1906 as a legitimate theatre for plays and musicals. For the first twenty years of its life it was used as an “out of town” tryout house (funny that Brooklyn was ever considered to be “out of town”) and then conversely housed Broadway productions that couldn’t be held over and needed a new home. The theater turned over its program to Vaudeville (one of the houses on the “subway circuit” as it was known in days of yore) and then to movies. In the later years of the 1970s the Majestic was reduced to showing triple X movies and then closed until BAM rescued it. The interior was “restored,” leaving its abandoned theatre character in place. The old Orchestra level was raised to blend into what was the mezzanine level, which is why you walk upstairs to get to the orchestra level now. The current balcony (and old third level) still utilizes the old segregated (and steep) staircase, formerly used for “colored people only.” Uncomfortable though it is, this is a very nice use of an aging theater once on the brink of being demolished.

The Majestic today: Saved as the BAM Harvey Theater

Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark

When I was small I had seen Walt Disney’s Peter Pan and wished out loud that “they” would make a live action version. My mother informed me that “they” had; that an actress named Mary Martin had starred in it on the Broadway stage. I then began dreaming about a time when I could see this live action stage version. When I was in my late teens I came across an LP in a record shop of It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman the Musical and began to salivate. That was a fascination for me––live on stage the characters beforehand only having been in the movies and animated. I finally did see a very good production of “Superman the Musical” at PCPA in Santa Maria and of course have seen Peter Pan on stage many times. When I was twelve I would have loved to be taken to Julie Taymor’s Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, and would have forgiven its flaws as a musical play and reveled in its spectacle of the mere sight of Spiderman spinning webs and flying over the audience. As an adult, I have no choice but to step back and really see this gargantuan, multimillion dollar experience for what it is––not so good. I will go on to say that I was fascinated by the show and delighted by many individual components. However, string those components together and you have a lot of noise, but not much of a play. Is it supposed to be a musical play or simply a concept––an experience? Expectations will have a lot to do with each individual’s reaction, which so far has ranged from “the worst show I ever saw,” to “I loved it.”

Let it be known that I saw the thirtieth preview performance. By this point the show should have been frozen and ready to open next week, but it has been postponed another month due to the well reported accidents as this wild theatrical experiment irons out the kinks. What I have always loved about Julie Taymor is her visual expression on stage. With puppets, masks, theatrical conventions both embraced and broken, she gives us unusual perspectives, pictures, images and characters. Her imagination is not restricted by the stage but opened up. She is both a serious professional who believes she is imparting a profound message and a kid who has the best box of Crayola crayons ever and her most extravagant dreams are still not her limit. What Taymor was able to do with The Lion King so perfectly has not happened for “Spiderman.” For one thing, she does not have a good enough story to tell––at least the way she and Glen Berger have written it along with songs by Bono and The Edge.

The show plays like a staged concept album in the vein of The Who’s Tommy or American Idiot, only the concept album did not come first this time. Bono and The Edge have written songs with appropriate hooks: “Bouncing Off the Walls”, “Rise Above”, “The Boy Falls From the Sky,” which all sound good for a “Spiderman” musical, but the end result is a ballad heavy song cycle with interspersed dialogue to keep a sense of story together. The sound is horrid and so it is impossible to appreciate the lyrics if they are to be appreciated at all. The book, for the first act anyway, follows generally what we know of the story from the film. For some reason a quartet of teens act as narrators, sometimes to clarify the muddle we have just witnessed and sometimes to cover a set change in the old fashioned “in one” convention. There are newer ways to cover a scene change and it could have been possible to tell the story through the characters rather than the children’s theater way of relating transition information. In the next month of previews it would be easy to cut those four teens and find better band-aids to cover the set changes (but sadly four actors would suddenly be out of work).

Reeve Carney and Jennifer Damiano

The character of Spiderman himself is played by every able bodied male in the cast at one point or another and sometimes all at once. This is not a straight forward telling of a story in any way––both a blessing and a problem. Peter Parker is played by the accessible Reeve Carney who is every bit the skinny nerdy teen, but with a cool pop rock voice. I found him to be very likable and enjoyed following his scenes when they came around between the spectacle. Jennifer Damiano is Mary Jane and she has a grounded center that is comforting within the cartoon craziness of the rest of the production. Both Damiano and Carney are real and believable, which was absolutely necessary to make the story work, for the rest of the characters are played to full comic book broadness. Reporters at the Daily Bugle, along with J.J. Jameson (Michael Mulheren) are plucked form The Front Page or some ‘40s film noir. Secretaries are plucked from Mad Men. Teenagers are painted in black and yellow and manipulated like dancers in a stylish music video. The many villains produced are in such fabulous costumes and masks that they are given a fashion show runway on which to show off since they have nothing else to do but look fabulous.

For all the bold images, street dancing, rock sounds and really spectacular flying effects, Act One works fairly well at introducing us to the characters. Peter acquires his powers and learns to use them, gets his job with the news paper, shyly attempts to start up a relationship with Mary Jane, etc. The Green Goblin (Patrick Page) emerges and there is a great flying fight between Spiderman and the Goblin to end the act over the heads of the audience. Act Two, by contrast, loses the story entirely. A new villain is brought forth named Arachne (T.V. Carpio of questionable talents), who is a spider goddess controlling Peter’s destiny, but all the interesting Spiderman flying is mostly over and we are informed of his daring exploits rather than fully seeing them realized. There are long stretches where we don’t see anything of Peter and Mary Jane––the only two characters we actually care about. When we do see them they are suddenly a couple then suddenly engaged. The “I love you” scene was building up through act one, but the declaration is the only pay off we get from these characters and it comes too soon in the second act so that we have nothing left for an ending but to have another actor as Spiderman save Mary Jane from her final peril. The other plot build up is Peter’s coming out as Spiderman, but the scene never happens and yet Mary Jane comes to know this truth by the end of the show. We are robbed of real dramatic scenes between the only two believable flesh and blood characters in the show. Am I wrong to want this? Perhaps the polite cocktail applause that greeted the numbers and the absent standing ovation at the end says something about the lack of humanity in the show. When it is all puppets, masks and noise it might be a sensory overload, but it isn’t moving. Ultimately, that is the expectation of a Broadway show, whether it is Annie Get Your Gun or Sweeney Todd.

The very spectacular set done in comic book style is credited to George Tspin and the costumes of insanity are credited to Eiko Ishioka, but Julie Taymor’s hand has been into every aspect, for the visual production has always been her concern. This is Julie Taymor’s show all the way––not to discredit the army of artists who helped to bring this production to life.

This production is so unusual that it has to be seen to be believed. I was not bored, but I left with a feeling of emptiness towards it. Yet I was constantly surprised and interested as the thing unfolded (literally at some moments). Everyone who can must see it just to see what can be done with sixty million. After all, that is one reason one lives in New York: to see a crazy theatrical experience that can’t be found anywhere else. My guess is that the title, not unlike The Adams Family, will survive the critics’ wrath and run the four years needed to pay off the investment, but if you don’t see it in New York you aren’t going to see it, save for an imagined Los Vegas engagement. The physicality of the show can’t tour and the literature of the piece isn’t good enough to come off well in a scaled down production. “Spiderman” is just one of those crazy things that happen in New York sometimes.

Dracula

Michel Altieri as Dracula

Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston’s adaptation of DRACULA made its Broadway debut in 1927 and made Bela Lagosi immortal as the title character, for he went on to make the film version of the stage play as we all know. The original production ran a season and then toured for two more years. In 1977, Frank Langella put his stamp on the role and also starred in a subsequent film version. That production won the Tony for Best Revival and played 900 performances on a unique set design by Edward Gorey. Now at the Little Shubert Off Broadway, that same 1927 version of DRACULA is back. This production has its little changes, edits and adjustments, but it is more like the production an audience might have seen in the ‘20s than it should be. That is to say, we have been through a lot with Dracula since Bella Lagosi and the melodramatic hokum of that era’s stage is hard to take seriously today. I wanted to love this production so much, but it was impossible. This material is delicate, for there are nearly ridiculous and grandiose lines that must be said, the trick of Dracula turning into a bat, the ladies fainting and screaming at the sight of shadows and recorded noises such as wolves howling and bats squeaking is all a bit sticky. The vampire recoils from the cross, he smashes a mirror when it is discovered that he does not reflect in it, and overly familiar words like, “I never drink...wine” are uttered. There are also hokey comic bits between a maid and caretaker, Renfield eating his bugs and the pounding of a stake through Dracula’s heart. How to handle all of this so the audience doesn’t giggle? Very carefully, but director Paul Alexander doesn’t seem to have the touch and neither does most of the cast.

Helming the production as Van Helsing is the commanding George Hearn, who gives the entire production credibility. Right behind him is the stalwart Timothy Jerome as Dr. Seward. These two veterans handle this dusty material expertly and everything they say and do is utterly believable. Less so for everyone else, though they give it the old college try, which is all the production amounts to: no more than a rudimentary college production distinguished only by the guest appearance of George Hearn.

Frank Langella as Dracula

Jake Silbermann, known to soap fans as Noah on “As the World Turns,” is Jonathan Harker. He is handsome and likable, but he hasn’t the ability to live within this particular world and comes off as out of place in his British accent and uncomfortable period starched collar and suit. Katherine Luckinbill as the comic maid gets by, but her role asks her to participate in some hocus-pocus that she barely makes believable. As Butterworth the caretaker to Renfield, Rob O’Hare creates a fun comic character that is just about what the play requires of him.

Jake Silbermann as Jonathan Harker

Two characters are rather miss-cast. The worst offense is John Buffalo Mailer (who happens to be the son of Norman Mailer) as Renfield. He is taller than anyone on stage and a strapping lad who is more in line of a romantic leading hero than the slight, bug-eyed, quirky character we have always known Renfield to be. He is played as a southern American with a slow drawl. He isn’t convincingly crazy and he is so robust that when he throws his fits it is unbelievable that the shorter Butterworth could ever control him. I kept waiting for Renfield to throw chairs around the room and single handedly toss Butterworth out the window. Renfield is a great character and a substantial one, both lovable and weird, and here he is such a disappointment that literally half the fun of the production has been sacrificed. The other disappointment is the hard working Emily Bridges (daughter of Beau Bridges) as Lucy, who was thrust into the role days ago when the original actress, Thora Birch, was fired. She tries, bless her, but she hasn’t the beguiling presence to captivate us. Her particular affliction, which takes on a subtle insanity and requires her to be startled by bats on wires and fall under the hypnotic spell of Dracula, not to mention deliver impossible lines of a 1920s ingenue as if she believed them, does not sell.

Now to Dracula, played by the Italian actor making his American stage debut, Michel Altieri: He looks great and has an exotic accent, but he does not possess that otherworldly magic personality that is required. This quality is hard to describe and impossible to teach. So, it is not enough that Mr. Altieri looks right and is dressed in cape and tuxedo, but he must be mesmerizing. Two famous lines from the 1930 film have been added to the play, “I never drink...wine” and “Children of the night, what music they make.” Mr. Altieri can’t say them with any sense of the weight they held when Bela Lagosi said them. In fact, he throws them away, which kept them from being silly, but did nothing to define the character as they had with Bela Lagosi. It wasn’t worth sticking the lines into the play.

Bela Lagosi as Dracula

That leaves us with George Hearn and Timothy Jerome to hold the show together and it isn’t enough. DRACULA is hard. It must be treated like Shakespeare or the Greek plays where great care is taken to get the line readings to sound natural. It takes a highly seasoned and probably classically trained actor to take these old lines into their being and bring them to life in a way we can believe in them. This cast is full of youngsters without the chops to handle the job, which is why it feels like a college production.

The set by Dana Kenn is old fashioned in its utilitarian aspects, but rather attractive and mood enducing––it was my favorite element of the production. Combined with Willa Kim’s Edwardian costumes and Brian Nason’s very effective lighting, the show looks wonderfully spooky. A few staging touches also make the show enjoyable such as Renfield crawling upside-down along the wall of the Sanatarium (aided by Flying by Foy), a bat flying in the window and up into the rafters was a fun moment, and Dracula dissolving out of sight while in the clutches of Van Helsing and Dr. Stewart was a real surprise. Still, no magic trick could save the production, for the cast just isn’t up to it. For the bows, the theme from SWAN LAKE was played as it had been for the credits of the 1930 film, but Helsing did not hush the audience with his famous last words:

“When you get home tonight and the lights have been turned out and you are afraid to look behind the curtains and you dread to see a face appear at the window...why, just pull yourself together and remember that after all, there are such things.”

Set design by Dana Kenn