Want to go?
WHAT: “Dracula: The Musical?”
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 8-10
WHERE: Edison High School; Reservations line: 419-499-4652 ext. 1080
COST: $6.00 adults; $5.00 seniors and students
INFO: edisonchargers.org
It may have Dracula in it and many people dress as the Count around this time of year but that’s about where the Halloween-type similarities end. “We usually do our big musical in the spring but thought we would do it in the fall given the title,” said director Rex Stanforth.
However Rick Abbot’s version of Dracula is all bark and no bite; as in there are more smiles and giggles than blood and gore. Very loosely based on Bram Stoker’s novel, it is set in England instead of Transylvania and the castle Count Dracula has purchased is across from a nuthouse (yeah, not very PC) where Renfield resides. Stanforth said, “Renfield has this contagious enthusiasm he claims he gets from his gypsy parents.”
All of Stoker’s principal characters are accounted for and then some. “It’s truly an ensemble piece even though there are eight principal characters,” noted Stanforth. We expanded the cast and tweaked it to suit our purpose and to have more fun with it.
Stanforth originally saw it years ago at a community theatre in Sandusky and Edison put it on the year after that. Every so often he brings it up again to the drama club board and this year they bit… get it? Well expect similarly bad puns throughout the show as well as music and dance.
The drama students knew their long time choreographer was going to be moving to Florida so junior Madeline Hoag offered to create the dance moves. When asked what it was like trying to get her friends to do as she asked Hoag said, “it’s more challenging being [that I’m] their peer, but they’re trying very hard to listen.”
Her friend, Lindsay Bolding, offered to assist. “Mostly we’re acting out the song in dance form; it’s not real intricate but it’s fun and easy so no one has to be a professional dancer to be able to follow along,” said Bolding.
Add to the laughter and nuttiness some special effects and a night of jovial hilarity ensues.
