Andrew Firestone Winter Hill is getting a little dramatic spice this holiday season, as Theater@First's production of Dracula prepares to his this stage this Friday for a "Spook"-tacular this Valentine's Day season. Opening at Elizabeth Peabody House theater this Friday, the 12th and running to the 27th. Those theater-goers expecting to see your typical modern tale of angst-ridden love will be surprised to see this darker take on the classic Vampire yarn. Going back to the days of Victorian Britain in the 1890s, Dracula spins the tale of the evil Count, who prowls through London to take a few precious pints of blood from the innocent. The story will take the audience from London to Transylvania, as a small band of heroes seek to end the Count's insidious reign of terror. "We have made a strong effort to make clear that Vampires are not a good thing. It is a corrupting force," said director Mike Babish, responding to the more recent media portrayals of vampires being more approachable and romantically inclined in such dramas as the Twilight series and True Blood. Thomas Champion, who plays Dr. Peter Seward in the production, felt gratified to return to the tried-and-true portrayal of the villainous undead. "In an era in which Vampires are being portrayed as not just seductive but downright lovable, it's very satisfying for me to take part in a production that maintains a more old-school approach," said Champion. "Our vampires don't sparkle. They all of the traditional menace and mesmerizing power that we associate with the undead of older legends." | ||||||
Champion, who worked for many years as the Director of Communications at City Hall, was impressed with his co-star Ron Lacey and the dark charisma he brings to the role. "I think Ron captures the supreme confidence and malignant intelligence of the count." Champion, who plays one of the central protagonists, also noted that the themes of limitation in the story, specifically of how his character, a Doctor and keeper of an asylum, is initially confounded by the supernatural threat of the Count. One character, an inmate named Renfield, who must fight the influence of the Count, is played by Jamieanne Devlin, who was nominated for an Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters (EMACT) special honor in 2009. Champion reports that Devlin "has been a great treat to work with. She is able to bring out both the pathos of the Renfield character and because she is a woman the tremendous moral courage which Renfield exhibits at the climax of the play."
"The stories we see about Vampires nowadays highlight the romantic aspects of the creatures; the fact they're immortal, the fact they are super-strong," said Babish. "Bram Stoker's novel focused on humanity." Babish's story showcases themes of limitation, noting the inability for the regular people in the play - the businessmen, doctors, sailors, etc. - to understand and defeat the supernatural threat of the vampire "How are they going to step up and do what needs to be done?"
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