Review: All Girl Dracula (The Chicago Mammals)

By Chicagotheaterbeat @chitheaterbeat

  
  
All Girl Dracula 

Adapted/Directed by Bob Fisher
   from novel by Bram Stoker 
Zoo Studios, 4001 N. Ravenswood (map)
thru Nov 21 |  tix: $28  | more info
  
Check for half-price tickets  
  

  

  

Melodramatic but deliciously scary

  

  

The Chicago Mammals presents

  

All Girl Dracula

Review by Lauren Whalen 

There’s nothing better than a classic horror story, and one that plays with gender is even better. With the All Girl Project, the Chicago Mammals strive to create opportunities for roles that are rarely, if ever, played by women. All Girl Dracula is a genuinely scary production with an exclusively female cast. While the production falters a bit, mostly in terms of Bob Fisher’s adaptation and direction of Bram Stoker’s novel, its strong performances and excellent effects make All Girl Dracula an ultimately satisfying experience.

In a small New England town, Mina Murray (Whitney LaMora) awaits the return of her fiancé Jonathan Harker (Amy E. Harmon), and enjoys the company of her best childhood friend, the sweetly frivolous Lucy (Sasha Warren). However, Jonathan’s in trouble: upon completing a business transaction with the mysterious Count Dracula (Sarah Koerner), Jonathan falls under the seductive spell of the Count and his bloodsucking brides. Mina is horrified by the bloodthirsty husk her now-husband has become, and seeks the help of Lucy’s beau Dr. Jack Seward (Anne Wilson). But when Dr. Jack introduces his colleague, the God-fearing Van Helsing (Erin Elizabeth Orr), into the mix, things get a lot more complex – and far bloodier.

There’s a lot that works about All Girl Dracula. The play’s sense of horror is uniquely on the nose, thanks in large part to the Mammals’ new venue. Deep in the basement of a Ravenswood building, the studio space is intimate, borderline claustrophobic: just as Jonathan is trapped in his new taste for blood, so is the audience in this increasingly horrific theatrical environment. Realistic blood effects, excellent fight choreography by Johnny Moran, and Rachel Boylan’s beautifully spare costume design add to the deliciously scary experience.

Most of All Girl Dracula’s flaws lay with director/adapter’s choices. At times the staging is awkward, with actors running across the space during blackouts and effectively taking audience members out of moments the actors had only just effectively established. The melodrama borders on overkill: both Jonathan and Van Helsing become borderline-insufferable, but this is less due to the actors and more owing to Fisher’s direction. (Also, why does Van Helsing have to be a Deliverance-style preacher-type? The character often seems to be in a different play altogether.) Additionally, the production is far too long, clocking in at two and a half hours – if Fisher had eliminated the copious dramatic pauses and a few unnecessary monologues, he could have cut the production by a full thirty minutes while maintaining the strong sense of horror.

 

Still, All Girl Dracula is worth the trouble, for the above-mentioned production values and the stellar cast. Though the character only appears in a few scenes, Koerner’s Dracula is one of the play’s most memorable characters. Koerner never takes the easy way out by playing Dracula as a cartoon character or the Count from “Sesame Street.” Her accent is convincing, her physicality flawless and her fanged grin wonderfully sadistic. In the dual role of Lucy and one of Dracula’s brides, Warren is delivers a beautifully dark performance, hinting at Lucy’s troubled past and the pain behind every sweet smile. And LaMora’s Mina is the production’s true standout: intelligent, adventurous and utterly devoted to her husband, even as his body and mind waste away.

All Girl Dracula isn’t perfect, but I’m intrigued by the Chicago Mammals. The company possesses both a unique mission statement and the chops to fulfill it, sometimes a rarity in the non-Equity theater community. An old story with a new twist, All Girl Dracula is thoughtful, intelligent, and genuinely horrifying.

  

Rating: ★★★

  

  

All Girl Dracula continues through November 21st at Zoo Studios, 4001 N. Ravenswood (map), with performances Saturdays and Mondays at 8pm.  Tickets are $28, and are available by phone (800-838-3006) or online through BrownPaperTickets.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at ChicagoMammals.com.  (Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, includes an intermission)

Photos by Bob Fisher 

  

artists

cast

Kelly Yacono (Giggle Girl, Bride of Dracula), Erin Elizabeth Orr (Abraham Van Helsing), Sasha Warren (Lucy Westenra), Whitney LaMora (Mina Murray), Anne Wilson (Jack Seward), Amy E. Harmon (Jonathan Harker), Sarah Koerner (Dracula)

behind the scenes

Bob Fisher (director, adaptor, photos), Krista Reeves (production assistant), Ashley Corbett (light and sound operator), Leigh Barrett (lighting designer), Stephen Gawrit (sound design), Emily Breyer (puppet design), Rachel Boylan (costume design), Johnny Moran (fight choreographer)

15-1022