Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
By Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen
Directed By: Mead Winters
Get ready for a fang-tastically funny night at the theater! Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud reimagining of the classic vampire tale. Packed with clever wordplay, quick-change performances, and over-the-top antics, this high-energy spoof brings Dracula and his eccentric cast of characters to life like never before. Whether you love classic horror or side-splitting comedy, this show will have you howling with laughter.
Audition Dates
- January 11 at 1:00 pm
- January 12 at 7:00pm
- Link to all Audition Sides: Character Breakdown is below.
Performance Dates
- April 17, 18, 24, 25, May 1, 2 at 8:00 pm
- April 19 and 26 at 3:00 pm
Character Breakdown
(Please note that if there is doubling of characters, the two which work best together are RENFIELD & DR. WESTFELDT and MINA & VAN HELSING based on humor and script purposes. They do not have to be doubled, though.
DRACULA (commanding European dialect)
He is portrayed as a very sexually attractive and alluring man with a magnetic personality. Partly because of this, he is extremely self-centered. Women tend to be naturally drawn to him as a romantic partner and men, especially Jonathan, are drawn to him as an exemplification of masculinity, boldness, and self-confidence. In the end, he sacrifices himself to save Mina and Jonathan, which displays a degree of courage and nobility completely absent in the novel.
JONATHAN HARKER (RP British dialect)
He is engaged to Lucy and is an extremely timid germaphobe. He is cautious about what he eats, takes no risks, and allows other characters to push him around. His fiancée Lucy is the clear leader in their relationship and he is controlled almost entirely by what she and other characters want. He demonstrates no nobility until the end, after he has been bitten and changed by Dracula to become much bolder and more outgoing. In the end, he reverts back to his usual cowardly self.
LUCY WESTFELDT (RP British dialect)
She is one of the heroes and plays an active role in getting rid of Dracula. She is engaged to Jonathan, usually takes the lead in their relationship, and often uses her cunning and her problem solving skills. She is intelligent and heroic, figures out that Dracula is the vampire, and leads the charge to find and kill him. In the end, she uses persuasion and logic to help Dracula see the error of his ways and becomes the hero of the story by helping to get rid of the antagonist.
MINA WESTFELDT (RP British dialect)
She is a rather foolish sidekick of her sister Lucy, uncared for by her father and without any suitors. While close to Lucy, she often feels inadequate and in her sister’s shadow. She is desperate to be in a relationship, naïve, and easily taken in. An easy victim of Dracula, she spends most of the show incapacitated.
DR. VAN HELSING (German dialect a la Mel Brooks)
She is a German woman who speaks with a comically thick accent. She is also the brains of the operation in tandem with Lucy and provides much of the know-how about vampires. She is relatively similar to the Van Helsing of the novel and models much of his wise, strategic, and knowledgeable spirit. In the play, Lucy shares the role of solving the mystery and caring for Dracula’s victims, which makes Van Helsing’s role in the drama slightly smaller. Van Helsing also eventually becomes a romantic interest of Dr. Westfeldt.
DR. WESTFELDT (RP British dialect)
He is Lucy and Mina’s father. He also runs the insane asylum and cares for Renfield and Kitty but does so in a flippant and dehumanizing manner. He is emotionally unaware and misogynistic and favors Lucy over Mina, frequently pushing Mina to the side or ignoring her completely. He is arrogant and unwilling to believe he is wrong, which blinds him to many of the problems in the piece. He eventually develops a romantic relationship with Dr. Van Helsing.
RENFIELD (cockney dialect and salivary issues)
Insane patient of Dr. Westfeldt who lives to serve and loves to eat bugs. In a word, the dude is nuts.
KITTY (cockney dialect)
She is a maid in the insane asylum and a chronic kleptomaniac. Her character does not grow or change much throughout the piece and she mostly exists to provide comedic relief. Think Mrs. Lovett but servile and easily distracted.
LORD WORTHINGTON (RP British dialect)/LORD CAVENDISH (Scottish dialect)/LORD HAVEMERCY (Texas accent)
These three are all arrogant suitors of Lucy who arrive at her engagement party to offer their counterproposals of marriage. They are all (possibly, but not necessarily) played by puppets in the hands of actors.
DRIVER (Eastern European or Russian dialect)
He takes Harker to Dracula’s castle. He speaks with a comically thick Transylvanian accent and is a caricature of the superstitious and overly cautious local. Borat meets Boris and Natasha.
CAPTAIN (sea captain dialect)
He is the man in charge of the ship doomed to wreck in England carrying Dracula and his belongings.
BOSUN (Irish dialect)
Another member of the crew of the doomed shipwreck.
GRAVEDIGGER (cockney dialect)
A mysterious, drunk, and creepy character who points them along the way in their hunt for Dracula.
*Please note that the play sends up gender “norms,” and all characters can be played by actors of any gender, age or type. The initial conception was as indicated above using 5 actors to play all the roles, but the cast can be expanded to as many as 24 actors