‘Tis the season for “scary.” But given the perennial popularity of “Rocky Horror,” nothing beats scary AND campy AND maybe a hefty helping of outrageous, gender-bending funny! Here’s a new one (to me) that’s developed quite the following in America’s regional theater circuit (including off-Broadway accolades), played London’s West End, and even brought down the house in Ramstein and Amsterdam. I was especially delighted to learn that DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS, now playing at Empire Stage, was an early, original commission by none other than our very own Maltz Jupiter Theater who’d contacted the zany comedy-writing team of Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen to script their company’s first world premiere.
Licensing giant Concord Theatricals (where most theaters get their rights) offers a “Script Summary” which perfectly encapsulates the play’s madcap, freely inventive and reimagined parody of the Count Dracula story: “Ever wonder what would happen if you took Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale and put it in a blender with Mel Brooks, Monty Python and The 39 Steps? That’s just what happens in this lightning-fast, laugh-out-loud, 90-minute gender-bending romp!”
Comparisons to some MAJOR comedy masters, here. But who can resist such a delicious seasonal challenge? Larry Buzzeo of ArtBuzz Theatrics and David Gordon of Empire Stage were certainly up for the task, once again combining their exceptional theatrical talent and experience to co-present Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors at their beloved, edgy blackbox theater-by-the-tracks in Flagler Village, Fort Lauderdale.
If you read my recent glowing review of how Gordon and Buzzeo rocked an impressive version of the Broadway revival of Cabaret at their “little theater that could,” you already know they can achieve miracles in small spaces. So, it should come as no surprise to hear this popular production team nailed it again! Happily, to keep us ordinary mortals on track with all the insanity, their show added about ten minutes to the insane but completely comprehensible plot that still moved fast and furious, packing even the darkest foreboding scenes with laughter, giggles and gasps.
I was sure Larry Buzzeo, who was such an impressive, tight-leather clad Emcee in Cabaret, would also play Dracula. But now that I’ve witnessed the fabulously toned abs and upper-arm muscles of fiery-eyed, hunky, lasciviously fanged Steven Fuentes embrace the lead with such shiver-inducing charisma (and even a dose of heart), I can’t imagine anyone else in the role. Each grand, cape-swirling entrance and exit of Count Dracula (speaking in his perfectly creepy Slavic accent) was such a pleasure to watch; you almost find yourself rooting for the vampire’s blood-sucking success!
Larry Buzzeo, who is also a featured member of the cast, then blew us away in two very different FEMALE roles that were so well acted … well it took me a minute to check my program to confirm it really was him (though his height may have been an indication)! This is one show where it’s perfectly acceptable for men to play women and women to play men in all sorts of believable and, even at times, instantly interchangeable combinations. It’s all part of the fun, and certainly gives actors a chance to expand their horizons while gifting the audience with their superior performances playing the opposite sex.
We first meet Buzzeo as the “ugly,” never-courted older Westfeldt sister, Mina, decked out in an elaborate Victorian dress and curly, long, ginger wig. Mina’s clumsy attempts at seduction, her frustration at always being the least-loved and overlooked member of the family, alongside Buzzeo’s comical manifestations of Mina’s girlish voice and coquetry – not to mention her violent orgasmic spasms while spying on her sister’s seduction – are all an absolute hoot to behold!
And as if to prove his range can veer on a dime from bluntly comedic to portraying a serious, feminist academic of the time, Buzzeo dons a dark-haired wig, large, padded boobs, and traditional Bavarian dirndl (and accent) to assume the role of Dr. Jean Van Helsing, a blood disease expert and vampire hunter. Bravo Larry Buzzeo for your absolutely insanely believable performance in both these roles! (All actors – except for the Count – play multiple parts. Buzzeo also serves as a suitably costumed carriage driver and the show’s early narrator who introduces us to “Vampire Stage,” holding a hefty 418-page tome of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel, but quickly letting us know “tonight’s presentation will be significantly shorter.”)
Another super-star, gender-switching performance is by the extraordinary Jill Bellak whose main character is Dr. Westfeldt (father of ugly Mina and pretty Lucy). Dr. Westfeldt is quite advanced in his medical opinions and runs a program to help the mentally ill (which he considers a “sickness”) at his home. Yet he’s still a “man” ingrained in the masculine prejudices of his time. And has a problem accepting that the famous vampire-hunter doctor he’d summoned to help his blood-sick daughter, Lucy, is a woman!
Decked out in nautical gear, we also witness Bellak in a dramatic cameo as a distressed sea captain who shares his final words during a terrible storm before “going down with the ship.” In “Captain’s Log, October 11, 1897,” he notes all 36 souls aboard succumbed to a mysterious blood illness; the only clue being tiny bat-bites on their neck. (Count Dracula was also a passenger on this ship bound for London but was never seen leaving his cabin.)
The Captain ends with: “Tell my wife and my mistress: she was the only one I ever loved.” This is typical of societal humor sprinkled throughout the play. In addition to campy pop culture references – like when Star Trek theme music plays just as we’re about to hear “Captain’s Log” and date. The play also makes a point to poke fun at South Florida, and presents a no-holds-barred political ending that caused many in the audience to erupt in applause! (Just before applauding all the highly talented actors in gratitude for delighting us with such an original, easy to enjoy, and extraordinarily FUN outing at the theater! Especially coming at a time when we can all use a break to connect with our inner child [can’t help loving those “galloping” hobbyhorses!] and surrender to the allure of a Count Dracula whose Comedy of Terrors bites with nonstop laughter!)
But now back to the great Jill Bellak. What will both amaze and stay with you the most are her instant role switches – from distinguished Dr. Westfield to hunched-over Renfield, a bug-eating mental patient who was given the task of family servant and whose transition is completed by donning a cap with long hair attached. There’s one scene that’s completely reminiscent of the role-alternating frenzy in the classic Hitchcock parody play, The 39 Steps, where Bellak practically turns into a spinning dervish as she bolts her body up and down, while switching her hair cap (and character roles) nonstop for several minutes!
The show opens to thunderous music and fog revealing a dark set where we can barely make out an upright coffin between a high, wooden castle door and ornate, peaked Gothic windows. A vase filled with black flowers sits on a corner desk beneath 19th century-style Westfeldt family portrait miniatures (of our actors in character). Multi-talented Larry Buzzeo is also credited for scenic design and construction.
And within this gloom, we suddenly meet an anxious passenger riding a horse-drawn wagon through the Carpathian Mountains toward Count Dracula’s castle. The passenger is real estate agent Jonathan Harker (here perfectly defined through bouts of nervous energy and fear by Grant Brecheisen) who’s off to inspect the Transylvanian property and sign a contract for its sale with the Count. But the horses keep bolting at even the mention of Dracula’s name, and the driver suddenly refuses to go any further, insisting his passenger get out and walk the rest of the way on his own. He does, however, give him a string of fresh garlic from the local farmers’ market to sustain him on his journey. (Only we suspect how important this garlic necklace will become.)
Interestingly, Jonathan, who consistently acts as the most timid of men, has a strong enough business ethic to proceed. And his encounter with fluorescent sunglass-wearing (for “glowing” eyes) wolves is our first chance to see how simple, silly, almost child-like special effects – ranging from Sesame Street-style puppet suiters to “flying” stuffed bats on sticks – are irreverently utilized with laugh-inducing gusto throughout the show.
Apparently, wolves are repelled by garlic as well. Jonathan makes it to the castle, gets his contract and agrees to purchase five residences for the Count in London. He also arranges to have six coffins filled with Transylvanian dirt sent to Dracula’s newest London purchase of Wilting Manor (one Jonathan Harker is thrilled to arrange as there was never any interest in this horribly run-down, haunted mansion).
But for Dracula, life (and our story) takes on new meaning when Jonathan shows him a picture of his fiancée — adventurous, independent-minded botanist Lucy, whose character is Jonathan’s complete opposite. The Count is instantly smitten by Lucy’s portrait, especially her beautiful neck, and feels he’s finally found a worthy soulmate to end his loneliness and whom he can claim as a death-long partner. Will meek Jonathan ever grow some balls and fight for the woman he loves? … Will it take a dose of vampire blood to turn him into “a man”? I’ll leave that for you to find out. Along with enjoying Grant Brecheisen’s character-laden, additional roles of Cavendish, Worthington, Havemercy, and Gravedigger.
And finally, we come to the object of desire of these two, could-not-be-more different, men (Jonathan and Dracula). Lovely, young, often accommodating and kind, but also highly opinionated and progressive Lucy Westfeldt, is played to a British-accented tee by Sarah Romeo. (I might note here that all actors assumed appropriate European accents for their roles.)
