'Bram Stoker's Dracula' A Dizzying Gothic Terror Ride, Unveiled In Southampton

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — In Southampton, a new, chilling version of "Bram Stoker's Dracula" has audiences captivated — and the cast is equally caught up in the horrifying magic of breathing new, and terrifying life, to the Gothic classic.

Presented by Center Stage at Southampton Arts Center “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” performed in radio format and adapted for the stage by Philip Grecian, kicked off the season Friday and runs through October 26.

According to director Michael Disher, Stoker’s "brooding tale of seduction, power, eternal life, hungers and thirsts," remains faithful to the source material.

"Despite its haunting appeal, 'Dracula’, oddly enough, is seldom staged," Disher said. "I am drawn to Gothic literature and ‘Dracula’ may well be one of the finest examples of the genre. Plus, presenting literature on stage is important to Center Stage — and to me."

The cast includes Daniel Becker, Richard Adler, Mary Sabo, Franco Pistritto, Elizabeth Wyld, Michaal Lyn Schepps, Kyle Paseka, Michael Ponella, Taylor Tybaert, and Tim Ferris as Count Dracula.

Reflecting on his love for "Dracula," Disher said: "I guess the older I get, the more I’m embracing classics and re-reading classic literature. Perhaps it’s the combination of the writing, the stories and the characters, for all seem to resonate more strongly than ever within me."

The show offers a rare chance to experience the classic in its theatrical adaptation, Disher said.

"Dracula" touches a deep and sometimes, forbidden, chord, he said. "I’m always intrigued by the thirst for power and control over others. What drives this and what allows one’s weakness to succumb to another is a great mystery to me. What exactly contributes to this powerful equation can be debated on so many levels. It is a primal conflict within most men and most fiction."

Reflecting on his "Dracula" journey, Disher said bringing the piece to the stage has fueled his fervor for Gothic literature. "It's a genre I have never been that familiar with."

But a deep love of literature has long shaped Disher's artistic vision. "I reread 'To Kill A Mockingbird' every year, just to remind myself of the importance of excellent literature and stories well told."

He especially embraces those stories "that mean something, placed in a setting that often defies and belies their mythology."

That's why, he said, the Truman Capote holiday pieces that Disher staged last year — and which will be brought back for a joyful second incarnation this season — hold such deep meaning, he said. The holiday collection, including "The Thanksgiving Visitor", "One Christmas" and "A Christmas Memory" are an homage to Capote and speak to a collective experience of family, of childhood memories, of home.

"That was one of the truisms in the Truman Capote pieces, which are coming up for a redux," Disher said. "Between Harper Lee and Truman Capote I was pretty much cemented within the world of Southern Gothic. But now, we're delving into Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is horror Gothic."

Disher confessed to very rarely reading horror books. In his youth, he read many of the initial Stephen King novels. "I think we all did! His books were highly entertaining, great what I call 'page turners'. That was pretty much my appreciation for horror."

The story of Dracula, however, has always held a particular and chilling fascination for Disher. As he was growing up, the "kings of horror" included the looming, haunting figures of Frankenstein, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera — and, of course, Dracula.

"As a child there was a company that did little scale models of all these horror figures. I would get them, paint each piece and assemble them. Upon completion, I remember that they frightened me."

In essence that's exactly what's transpired with Disher's most recent production — he's painstakingly painted to life on the stage, in vivid color and detail, a Dracula that terrifies once born, a creature whose laugh is so simply blood-curdling it will keep the sweet comfort of sleep at bay for weeks to come.

"I've never directed 'Dracula' before, never brought him to life. It's harrowing," Disher said. "What I've determined about 'Dracula' is that it's really more of a Gothic mystery than anything else. It's not just a story about, 'Let’s find Dracula and kill him!' but instead, how do you put all these pieces together to realize you are dealing with something that you have never dealt with before?"

Disher said he learned so much about the story by reading the novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. "It's very dense," and took time to absorb, but was gripping and life-changing, Disher said.

And, he added, there has long been a fascination round the world with the character of Dracula, the "Most Portrayed Literary Character in Film," according to the Guiness Book of World Records — ahead of even Sherlock Holmes. "Dracula is the king of the undead, in film and television," Disher said.

Put simply, Dracula epitomizes the evil audience just can't resist.

When asked what about the blood-sucking monster who yet, despite his own deadly intent, draws audiences with enthusiasm, Disher said: "I think people like to be scared. People like stories about the unknown and to me, that’s been one of the joys of presenting this Dracula. Because nothing is clearly outlined, even for Dracula. Bram Stoker pointed out that Dracula didn’t know all his possibilities and capabilities upon his initial introduction to the world. As he lived through all these centuries and lifetimes, he began to cultivate skills knowledge and abilities, so by the time he reached 1888, he was a full-fledged master of himself. He finally began to understand his potential and power. And all of these subsidiary characters are now trying to figure out, 'Okay, how do we combat something that is so beyond us in skill — and do we have the capabilities to destroy it?"

A clear message that resonates in Disher's production is the innate, inexplicable desire of humankind to destroy or kill what they do not understand or know.

"Tim Ferris (Dracula) and I wrestle with that, with redemption," he said. "One of the most fascinating dynamic in this piece for Tim and I was addressing Dracula’s association with Renfield, the crazy character who eats spiders and mice in sanatarium."

In Disher's production, Franco Pistritto, as R.M. Renfield, is luminous in his masterful portrayal of a man's dazzling descent into madness — he's riveting in every turn, every nuance, every gesture, small and grand.

Ferris and Disher discussed whether Renfield is, in fact, in love with Dracula. "Of course he is," Disher said. Not that Dracula is gay, he said. While there might be attraction, it's "not necessarily on the part of Dracula, because he has no heart. How can he love? All he does is lust — and there within lies that wonderful conundrum and the great paradox. The great irony," Disher noted, "is that the easiest way to kill a vampire is to drive a wooden stake through its heart. But how can you kill with a stake though the heart, what is heartless?"

The show, he said, is a "fascinating psychological journey — who will submit? Who will resist? Who will succumb? Put all the pieces together and you realize you've got a hell of a mystery. I hope the audience is asking themselves these questions."

On his cast for this production, Disher said he always demands that actors search for subtext, not only within their individual characters, but in their relationship with the other characters. "This sometimes requires deeper digging and deeper soul-searching. In order to present this as a psychological ride or a thriller or mystery requires more than just a copious amount of low-lying fog on the stage — which I do have."

The show itself is a visual feast — a kaleidescope of color and music and fog, coupled with first-rate performances, that leaves an audience chilled to the very bone and literally jumping in fear in their collective seats at times.

His aim, Disher said, is ultimately, for "people to have a graver appreciation for the story and hopefully, read the book somewhere along the line. It’s not particularly light reading but if you’re in the mood for something moody and broody and horrifically Gothic, Dracula’s your guy. There are so many incarnations within films and variations of this, who gets bitten who doesn’t, that I was very happy to find a 90-minute version that was pretty darned faithful to the source material."

This season, Disher said his commitment is to bringing literature to glorious life on the stage. And "Dracula," he said, in the end, haunts. "If people can look at Dracula and not necessarily pity him but think, 'Wow, what a lonely man. What a lonely existence, to only live in the dark.' There's your metaphor."

Ferris, who plays Dracula, also took the time to explain how the experience of playing the role has been transformative.

"Count Dracula is more than just a famous movie monster. He represents corruption and decay. The Old World’s invasion of the New World. A conservative threat against progressivism in all its forms. Only this threat is charming and persuasive, and you might find yourself seduced to the Count’s side and believing in his false promises," he said.

He added: "Mina Murray, the novel’s heroine, famously represents the Victorian idea of the modern woman. Count Dracula — ancient, masculine, and from a noble lineage — represents the possibility that modernity may be overtaken, corrupted, and ultimately destroyed by power structures and traditions from the past. The threat of Count Dracula is therefore that you might be seduced and persuaded to compromise your values, your morals, everything you hold dear. But Count Dracula is a creature of the past, who represents forces that act against everything we believe in. These must be fought."

Ferris paused. "However, all that aside, on a personal level, Count Dracula is the ultimate bad guy! He’s an actor’s dream role! I actually get to wear a cape and do a maniacal laugh — which is something I practiced so many times with a towel tied around my neck when I was a small boy. This is the most fun I’ve had playing a role in a very long time, and I’m loving every second of it"

Dracula has been adapted hundreds of times, and each adaptation finds a new approach to how the horror is conveyed, Ferris said.

But this production brings something entirely new to the proverbial table. "As a staged radio play, there is something inherently unique that audiences aren’t likely to have seen before. A lot of work must take place to lend the show an atmosphere of authenticity," Ferris said.

To prepare, Ferris said he listened to audio dramas while commuting to work. "It’s different from listening to an audio book or watching a stage play. There’s a lot of information and emotion that can only be communicated through what the performers are made to say directly. Because we can’t see the performer’s face, the performer must compensate by putting extra effort into how they deliver their vocal performance."

And, he said: "While audiences who come see our Dracula are likely to latch onto the visual elements at play, they will probably find themselves surprised at how much work is put into the aural elements as well, including the sound effects and music. Most sound effects are provided live by Joey Giovingo, who is probably the hardest-working performer on stage. All the rest are provided by Ken Blessing, the lights and sound operator, who makes you really think that you’ve been transported to Transylvania, and the wolves are closing in around you."

Working with Disher is a gift for every actor who's ever basked in his tutelage, Ferris said.

"Michael Disher is brilliant. He’s directed some of the best theatre on Long Island, and I think that very few productions out here on the East End have matched his level of artistry. I first became aware of Michael when I was in high school and I saw his production of The Fantasticks in 2008, which I absolutely loved. I got to work with him soon after that as a performer in The History Boys in 2009, and I got to learn firsthand how he approaches directing and storytelling."

Like Ferris, Disher is also a teacher, an educator in all he undertakes, he said. "A very good one. I find that I always learn something new about life or about myself whenever I work with him. The History Boys was a long time ago. I’m now an adult, and I’m very lucky to say that I’ve worked with Michael on several shows now, and I’m still learning so many new things under his direction."

Disher, Ferris said, is someone who understands the human condition very well. "What I like most about Michael as a director is how he is able to draw out the humanity buried deep beneath characters who might at first repel most people. Michael has a keen ability to get the most out of his actors in order to elicit the audience’s sympathy for these characters."

And Dracula was no different. "For Dracula, Michael’s studied the source material backwards and forwards, and I truly admire the level of fidelity he has towards Bram Stoker’s famous novel. To Michael, the character Dracula is a person first and foremost. As such, Dracula is vain and petty and fallible, as much as any of us. Michael knows that, at the novel’s heart, Dracula is victim to his own delusions of grandeur."

For Ferris, the Dracula journey has also been deeply personal. "I’m a huge fan of Victorian literature. I first read Dracula in college, and it changed my life — I’m not even kidding. Reading the novel is a very unique experience, different from what you may expect from the many movie adaptations. It was a novel that challenged me, demanded my attention, and I couldn’t put it down. After that, I’ve read many other classics of the era, like the Sherlock Holmes stories, the science fiction of H.G. Wells, and, of course, Frankenstein."

He continued: "I love this era of fiction. There’s something about the atmosphere, the verbose language, and the larger-than-life characters that were borne from it that I find so compelling. So much so that I went on to study the literature of the 19th century in graduate school. My master’s thesis was all about the colonial narratives that come from the science fiction of both H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. It’s an era that occupies a large portion of my brainspace and imagination. I love it. So when I heard Michael Disher was directing Dracula, I was on board from the word 'go.'"

As an actor, presenting a classic is a singular experience, Ferris said.

"The classics are classics for a reason. Helping people understand why these old works of fiction captured the imaginations of so many people in the first place is also very important to me. For example, I picked up Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island for the very first time on a whim during the pandemic, and I could not put it down. It’s awesome, and it’s jam-packed with action, adventure, pirate hijinks — all the things people have come to associate with pirate stories. Since then, I tell anyone who will listen that if they want to read something really fun, read Treasure Island. We literally would not have the Pirates of the Caribbean movies without it."

When asked why audiences should flock to the production, Ferris reflected: "Dracula is the quintessential Halloween horror. While movie adaptations come at a dime a dozen, finding a stage performance of Dracula is actually very rare, as it happens. Because of this, we’re lucky to have Michael bring Dracula to the East End just in time for the Halloween season. It’s spooky, it’s thoughtful, and it’s a whole lot of fun. This is also an amazing cast. I’ve performed with nearly all of these actors before, and I can speak confidently that when we’re all on stage, something magical happens."

The show also features stage management by Joey Giovingo and lighting and sound by Kenneth Blessing. "Bram Stoker’s Dracula" is presented through special arrangements with Dramatic Publishing. The production is sponsored in part by Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Yaffa Foundation and LMS Design.

Performances take place from October 17 to 26, with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $25/$20 for SAC members.

For additional information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Center Stage at Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton.