Dracula

Dracula
Aurora Fox Theater
Aurora, CO
October 7 - November 7, 2016

Dracula is a classic character and especially popular this time of year. Less familiar is the musical of the same name written by Frank Wilderhorn. The musical stays faithful to the original novel by Bram Stoker. The novel is surprisingly sexual considering the era it was written in. And the script and performance of the show doesn’t back away from that aspect at all. The female vampires constantly demonstrated the sexual hold Dracula had over them.

The music in this show will be entirely unfamiliar to most audiences. The songs have not been widely recorded and few are memorable after the curtain closed. The program did not contain a list of musical numbers either which didn’t help. The ensemble piece “Deep in the Darkest Night” was a soaring anthem and the most inspiring song in the show. Lucy’s song “How Do You Choose?” gave Act 1 some much needed comic relief.

Despite the unrecognizable score, the cast at the Aurora Fox performed each one beautifully. The voices of the performers were incredible and the harmonies were a pleasure to listen to.

The script doesn’t help the actors at all to help the audience understand Dracula’s motives. Dracula seems so content at the beginning to surround himself with beautiful, oversexed vampires of his own creation and yet when it comes to Mina Harker, his motives change with no reason why. And while he spends the entire story fighting for his survival and then suddenly gives up.

The costumes and scenery brought the Victorian era to life. The set was remarkably flexible. The walls which came in for intimate indoor scenes moved smoothly around the stage. Most scenes changed with very little visible to the audience – quite a feat considering how many changes were needed. The fog machine at the front of the stage added effect however at time the amount of fog actually obstructed the view of the action on stage.

Despite the lack of familiarity audiences may have with the material and the obvious flaws in the script, the performances in Dracula make it a show worth seeing.