Just in time for the spooky season, the Town Players of New Canaan have an evocative offering certain to scratch your October itch for Victorian horror. With a reputation for successfully refreshing old tales, playwright and actor Kate Hamill turns her attention to horror with a spirited take on the most famous vampire of all time in Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really. In this version, the vampire hunter is a woman, and there are no damsels-in-distress. This is a Dracula that shatters glass ceilings with pointy sticks.
Set in 1885, the ancient Transylvanian Count Dracula and his creepy household relocate to England seeking greener pastures…and fresh prey. Their desire to relish their new hunting ground meets an obstacle in the person of Dr. Van Helsing, a bold ‘lady doctor’ from the American West, hunting vampires and thoroughly out of place, if not out of time. They battle for the body and soul of young Lucy Westenra and her best friend’s husband, Jonathan Harker. Meanwhile, Dracula’s servant and biggest fan, the former ‘lady poet’ Renfield languishes in an asylum, waiting for liberation.
Director Carin Zakes, returning from her sold-out 2020 Powerhouse production of “Rocket Girl,” leads us through a suspenseful journey to Count Dracula’s uncertain fate. “While his vampire servants play with their hoped-for human food, we wonder whether the hunter will become the hunted,” says Zakes. “All in all, it’s bloody good fun.”
Keith Levenson, orchestral and Broadway composer and The Who’s conductor, debuts a haunting and beautiful underscore written especially for this production. New Canaan native Gus Botazzi brings his martial arts and stage combat expertise as fight choreographer. Cast includes Geoffrey Gilbert, from Stratford, as the charmingly evil Count Dracula; Norwalk’s Jessie Lizotte, as heroine and rookie vampire-killer Mina Harker; Nova Hall, from Darien, as Van Helsing; Rye natives Noam Ben Yakir and Kate Clark as Jonathan Harker and Marilla, one of Dracula’s vampire sister wives; Norwalk’s Dana Billingham as Lucy Westenra; Sam Bass, from White Plains, as Dr. George Seward; Stamford’s Kim Wood as Renfield; and Alex Theodoropoulos, from Queens, NY, as sister wife Drusilla.
“Dracula, a Feminist Revenge Fantasy, really” runs weekends from October 11 – 27, Powerhouse Theatre, Waveny Park, New Canaan, CT. Audiences will have the opportunity to participate in Talkbacks with the director and cast after performances on October 13, 18, 20, and 25.
Not recommended for children under 14. Tickets and more information at www.TPNC.org.
