Theatre Review: Drinks are on Dracula at House of Besarab

Far from basking in their Twilight, vampires are currently enjoying nothing if not a renaissance. So if vampy diaries, bottled, bloody beverages and a New Moon on the horizon have you thirsting for more vampire lore The House of Besarab invites you to sink your fangs into the granddaddy of all vampire sagas: a retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  

The Count’s tortured tale, adapted for this venue by Terance Duddy and Ted Ott, leans well into the choose-your-own-adventure style of follow-the-action theater. And the Hollywood American Legion Post 43, a brooding, historic, monolith is quite believably transformed into the multi-room set of Dracula’s Transylvanian Castle.  

The adventure begins as the Count’s man servant, Renfield, played by David Himes invites the audience to follow him up the stairs from the uber-cool American Legion bar for a meet and greet with The Master himself: Count Dracula, played by Michael Hegedus.

After a brief introduction, in the vaulted Legion Hall atrium, the Count truncates Stoker’s story, cutting right to the chase. Vampire hunter, Dr. Van Helsing, played by Travis Michael Holder, and Psychiatrist, Dr. Seward, played by Terra Shelman, are about to arrive, along with a pair of star-crossed lovers: Jonathan Harker, played by Dane Bowman, and his lovely, though entranced finance, Mina, played by Chase McKenna.

In this version, The Count’s agenda for summoning the doctors involves his two vampy vixens, Cruza, played by Megan Harwick, and Riva, played by Sara Spink. The vixens are pregnant -- Riva imminently so. The Count seeks medical assistance to deliver the babies. Meanwhile, Van Helsing and Seward arrive with plans to kill the Count in order to free the bedazzled Mina from his spell. Almost as soon as the play begins, the air is rich with the promise of a battle.

In quick order, the audience is invited to choose whether to follow the Count and his vixens to the parlor, where they scheme and prepare for their visitors; or remain in the atrium to welcome Van Helsing and the others. As the play progresses actors pass between rooms and the audience is encouraged to follow at will.

Choosing a storyline and moving along with the action is a fun hook and it generally worked fairly seamlessly, though some improvements will likely occur as the cast and guides become more comfortable with the process.

McKenna was resplendent and fiery as the bedazzled Mina, particularly while recounting a 300 year old devastation that led to her suicide as the Count’s beloved wife. Meanwhile, Hegedus’ portrayal of the Count would benefit from some assertiveness training. Tentative is not usually an adjective ascribed to Count Dracula.

Spink and Hardwick, as the vixens, provided the sexy, campy eye candy we’ve come to expect in a vampire story.  While Holder’s award-winning stage experience was evident in his solid depiction of Van Helsing. Shelman also cut a crisp, convincing figure as Dr. Seward and Bowman was perfectly cast as the dashingly heroic Harker.

Adding to the tapestry of horror was Slava, a chained villager undergoing transformation into a werewolf, well-played by Jason Parsons and a gypsy woman equally well-played by Miliza Milo. David Himes delivered a reasonable Renfield, however, it’s likely that his dual role as audience guide caused him to tone down the creepiness normally expected of the twitchy, bug-munching character.

The sets, lighting, sound and costumes were all well above par and complimented the production. However, the final battle might have benefited from some strobe lightning and sound effects.

Overall, the staff was warm and welcoming and the light hors d’oeurves were a very nice touch. The bar, a veritable ocean of ambiance, opens one hour before show time, so plan to arrive early enough for some people watching and a pre-show beverage, a Cosmo made with black vodka, perhaps.

This production is presented as a Benefit for the American Legion. Post 43 continues its charity work and guidance and has over 485 veterans of America’s wars and conflicts as members.

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