A blood-sucking good time

The horror and seduction of the blood-sucking monster Dracula came to the stage of IU's Ruth N. Halls Theatre this weekend. Playwright Stephen Dietz reweaves Bram Stoker's classic novel about the immortal count who seduces women to drink their blood, creating a haunting but effective stage play. \nFor the most part, the production is fantastic. The scenery, designed by Gordon R. Strain, a second-year Master's of Fine Arts student in scenic design, has all the right touches to convey the gothic environment Stoker created in his novel. The play moves rapidly between various locales. Scene changes are depicted with the introduction of different furniture to the dark and dreary stone castle. A smoky fog continually swirls in the background, adding to the dark, gothic feel of the tale.\nMFA student Kristen Held's costume designs are also impressive. She brought to the stage exactly what this period piece required. From Dracula's stunning dark capes to the women's flowing white nightgowns, the costumes perfectly enhance the mood and story-telling of this play.\nJunior David Sheehan is convincing in his role as Renfield, an insane asylum patient driven mad by his lust for Dracula's blood and immortality. He truly seems crazy as he rants, raves and screams while flailing around in an open straight jacket. \nSenior Tenaya Irene Hurst is impressive as Lucy, the first of Dracula's London victims. Her whole body conveys Dracula's trances as he calls her to his side. \nWhile MFA student Sam Wootten's tall, lean stature gives Dracula the physical prowess needed for the role, the Hungarian accent he tries to assume detracts from the effectiveness of his acting. Over the past year, I've seen Wootten in several other local productions, and he's accomplished much more in past roles. He seems to stumble over the accent, which does not sound a bit Hungarian to me, and speaks too slowly to be believable. \nI also have to question the way the blood-sucking, seduction scenes took place. Whenever Dracula bites into a victim, the woman sounds orgasmic. While I understand that a vampire's bite is supposed to make his victim moan in ecstasy, the moans go on for far too long and are too intense. With each bite scene, the victims' moans get more and more excessive. Wootten swoops down over the woman with his cape, making it look like more is going on as the hidden woman grips his shoulders in rapture. There was noticeable discomfort in the audience each time this happened. While I understand what McFadden is trying to accomplish with these scenes, it would be to the play's benefit to tone it down a bit. The same point and effect could be conveyed in much less time and with much less distress to the audience. As things stand, I honestly wouldn't recommend bringing your mother with you to this play.\nOverall this production of Dracula is great fun. The play is well-acted, and the costumes and scenery are masterful. This classic tale is the perfect way to start getting in the mood for Halloween and the Department of Theatre and Drama's next production, "Bat Boy, The Musical"