LA Theatreworks: Dracula

Bram Stoker’s novel of 1897, Dracula, was published with little popular fanfare. Critics, however, praised the author and put Stoker in the category of Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe. But audiences didn’t flock to the tale of this otherworldly being that feeds off others to preserve eternal life, until the early-mid 1900s when film versions generated enormous press for the title. Invasion stories, during the height of British colonialism, were made popular by Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle and others, but Stoker’s Dracula was like nothing the world had seen. This gothic horror is a classic for all time and has spawned hundreds of spin-offs in popular culture from Twilight to True Blood.

In Charles Morey’s acclaimed adaptation, Count Dracula slips quietly into Victorian London with a cargo of his native Transylvanian soil, necessary for rest between his victims. The city seems helpless against his frightful power, and only one man, the smart and resourceful Dr. Van Helsing, can stop the carnage. But to do this, he must uncover the vampire’s lair and pierce Dracula’s heart with a wooden stake- setting up an epic confrontation of good vs evil. Over the years, the story of Dracula has been used as commentary in modern studies of psychology, women’s issues, and colonialism, while never losing its place as one of the greatest horror stories ever told.

Under the leadership of Producing Director, Susan Albert Loewenberg, L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) has been the foremost radio theater company in the United States for more than two decades. L.A. Theatre Works is broadcast weekly in America on public radio stations, daily in China on the Radio Beijing Network, streamed online at www.latw.org and programs are aired internationally on the BBC, CBC, and many other English language networks. LATW has single-handedly brought the finest recorded dramatic literature into the homes of millions. On the road, LATW has delighted audiences with its unique live radio theater style performances in over 300 small towns and major cities, including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington and Chicago, Beijing and Shanghai. An L.A. Theatre Works performance is immediate, spontaneous, and features a first-rate cast, live sound effects, and a connection to the audience rarely felt in a traditional theater setting. This theater… is an event.

The cast of Dracula includes the well-known TV and film actor Nicholas Hormann who’s been seen in dozens of television hits including The West Wing, Parks & Recreation, Modern Family, and Desperate Housewives. His numerous film credits include Kramer vs Kramer and the early Oliver Stone horror film The Hand. Mr. Hormann will play Dr. Van Helsing.

Veteran horror film actor Skip Pipo will play the role of Renfield. Mr. Pipo’s long list of film and TV credits include B-movie favorites such as The Janitor, Sam Hell, and Poker Run as well as the television series The Black Dawn.

The cast also includes Michael Kirby who just wrapped the horror film Hell’s Heart, Paul Culos, Graham Outerbridge, and Alexis Jacknow, all up and coming TV actors, Summer Spiro a star of the new web series Dabsity, and Patrick Wenk-Wolff who has been seen recently on television in The Last Ship, Rizzoli & Isles, and Life on Mars.