Twilight's for teens, The Vampire Diaries is basically just a soap opera, and True Blood's not back until June 22. That's just fine, because tonight you can sink your teeth (groan, sorry) into the opening night of a bloody classic of the vampire genre, at an all new stage adaptation of Dracula.
You know how it goes: Jonathan Harker travels from London to Transylvania's Castle Dracula, after which "the Count turns his evil eye upon the solicitor's loved ones and slowly begins taking over their lives." But this show takes a fresh angle on Bram Stoker's tale, approaching it from the perspective of his victims.
“Rather than a scary, be-fanged, blood-sucking monster being the central focus, I think the real horror in Dracula are the hardships endured by the innocents Dracula stalked — the mental and physical stress sustained by those conditioned to ignore their emotional needs; the temptation of being offered gender equality at the cost of personal integrity; the sudden loss of a bright future. These themes can get lost in the flashy re-tellings. Our goal was to bring these original elements to the fore, and to highlight that Stoker's tale was much more progressive than many give it credit for,” writer Jennifer Keller says.
What: Kellerson Productions' Dracula
When: Opens tonight at 8 PM, runs Thursdays-Saturdays through May 31
Where: Shelton Theater (533 Sutter near Mason)
Cost: Tickets are $30 online, $35 at the door