NextStop's 'Frankenstein' Aims To Frighten And Enlighten Audiences

HERNDON, VA — Audiences attending NextStop's production of "Frankenstein" should prepare themselves to be scared, according to Evan Hoffmann, the show's director.

"One of the things that makes the show great is there are moments that are terrifying," he said, adding the production was breathtakingly beautiful, as well.

The timing of NextStop's chilling presentation of the classic Mary Shelley horror novel couldn't be better. The play debuts Friday and runs through Nov. 13 at the company's home stage in Herndon.

"It's fun to be doing 'Frankenstein' near Halloween," Hoffmann said, although he wanted audiences to know that NextStop's show is not a family-friendly presentation. "In all the information we're putting out there, we're making sure that it's clear to audiences that this show is for mature audiences. It includes depictions of serious violence, sexual violence, and there is nudity in the show. We feel it's our responsibility to make sure that that is clear to people who are considering coming."

The production is an ambitious one for NextStop, Herndon's professional theater company. Based upon Nick Dear's adaptation of the Shelley novel, the original London production featured a cast of around 30.

"One of the things that we have a lot of fun doing at NextStop, in our little 100-seat theater, is taking big, bold, ambitious works of theater that people associate with a large scale and finding ways of making them more intimate while maintaining a sense of epic emotion and the scale of the emotions and the story," Hoffmann said.

While the character of Victor Frankenstein is typically the focus of most adaptations of the novel, NextStop's production is centered around the role of The Creature, who is portrayed by Jared H. Graham. The show actually begins with that character's "birth."

"The story is about how an individual can be ostracized and made into an 'other,' not because of anything that they chose to do, but because of who they are, seeing how that tracks across time and space through different characters and seeing the differences between them," Graham said. "But also, seeing how there are similarities universally, that's been a great service to the storytelling, as we try and drive that message home."

Most of the eight performers in NextStop's production of "Frankenstein" play multiple roles. Gigi Cammaroto, who is making her professional debut in the show, portrays Gretl, Dream Creature, and Elizabeth.

"It is more fun than a challenge having to play a lot of different tracks, because we've talked a lot about how they're similar rather than different," she said. "So, it's been fun for me to kind of trace that story through these three different characters. And also finding resonance within movement and action and blocking."

The show also features nearly an hour of original music composed by NextStop's sound designer Jordan Friend.

"I reached out to him, as I knew he was also a composer and musician," Hoffmann said. "He thankfully jumped at the chance and has been feverishly writing music. There are individual themes for The Creature and for Victor and for other characters that reinforce the emotional journey and the tone that we're trying to set."

Although the 1818 novel has been adapted countless times in movies, TV shows, and on the stage, the story still resonates with modern audiences, according to Graham.

"Over the runtime of this show, we will have taken the audience on a journey that is visually stunning, hopefully the performances are OK," he said, chuckling. "But, I really think that we will leave them with questions of morality, good and bad, right and wrong, nature versus nurture. How can we affect each other in a way that supports one another rather than tearing each other down? How do we get past the 'othering' of the 'other' in society? How can we all be one?"

NextStop's production of "Frankenstein," which was adapted by Nick Dear from Mary Shelley's novel, runs from Friday, Oct. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 13 at the company's home stage, which is located at 269 Sunset Park Drive in Herndon. Ticket information is available online.

Content Warning: NextStop Theatre's production of "Frankenstein" contains full frontal male and female nudity (still and in motion), depictions of physical violence, sexual violence and death, prop guns and knives, as well as strong language, loud noises, and other sensitive content. For more information click here.