Analysis Of Richard Garner's Production Of Dracula

When I sat down at the Cabell theatre with my friends to see Dracula, an usher provided each of us with a program. On the first page of this program were written the words “The Gainesville Theatre Alliance proudly presents, Dracula.””. All of the individuals involved should share the same choice of words to describe this production: proud. Director Richard Garner’s production of Dracula provides its audience with much to be absorbed. From its bleak and hopeless tones to its spectacular cast, Dracula approaches all of its material with the utmost care to create a truly chilling experience. Many different elements must be present in order to convey a gripping story. Pulling this off is even more of a feat when you must rely on elements that

Particularly, how it is employed in the shows climax and in an eerie scene in which Seward, Harker, and Van Helsing must hunt down the recently undead Lucy. The fog helps to create a convincing image of a tomb or a graveyard when Lucy is being hunted and it also conveys the ghostly and unsure nature of the task that must be done. This holds true when Seward, Harkins, and Van Helsing finally face off against Dracula. It also allows for a convenient shroud for Dracula to melt into trapdoor like the Wicked Witch of the West. Although, his defeat is much more climactic than that of the classic, green, cinematic

For the most part, Avery Bowne pulls this off. However, in a cast full of strong and memorable performances, such as the beast-like performance of Barrett Crowder as Renfield, or the laugh out loud comedic timing of Jim Hammond as Professor Van Helsing, a lesser performance stands out like a sore thumb. This is sadly the case for the title character, Avery Bowne as the infamous Dracula. This can be attributed to two issues with the production; the editing of the classic novella into a stage play, and also the accent used by Bowne in his performance. The modern perception of the sexual vampiric demeanor can be traced back to the romanticism of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which makes it hard to view Bowne’s Dracula as true to its source material. Perhaps this is because a lot of the romanticism had to be cut from the stage production. Bowne also seemed to stray away from using the classic Transylvanian accent. I respect the brave acting choice, but what could have been refreshing turned out to be disappointing instead. Although he certainly looks the part of a suave and menacing vampire. Bowne’s performance was not detrimental to the show. It was only a rugged rock amongst polished