DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS to Open at Theatre in the Park

Coming up Oct. 3-Oct. 19, TIP INDOORS will present 'Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors' by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen. This show is a wildly theatrical, very loose retelling of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula.' By 'very loose,' we mean somebody apparently read the original novel and then said, 'Yes. But what if everyone were ridiculous?'

It's fast. Campy. A little naughty. Very silly. It knows the story you think you know... and then proceeds to misbehave with it.

'Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors' will be presented in the Black Box Theatre located inside the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, located at 8788 Metcalf Avenue. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. (Oct. 3,9, 10, 15, 16, and 17), with matinees beginning at 2 p.m. (Oct. 4, 11, 17, and 18). The Box Office opens one hour prior to the performance time. For an extra spooky experience, there is also one special 11:59 p.m. performance (just before Midnight) on Friday, Oct. 9! ASL interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing will be present for the 7:30 p.m. performance on Oct. 17. Audio description will also be available for this performance

Tickets for evening performances are $20 for adults ages 11 to 59 and $18 for ages 60 and older. Tickets for matinee performances are 15 percent off. (These prices are before taxes and fees.) 

In this tale, there are, of course, all the regulars... Dracula, Jonathan Harker, Lucy, Mina, and Van Helsing. There's blood, thunder, mysterious illnesses, and all the other things one reasonably expects from a vampire story. This time, though, just for a little intrigue, Dracula is kind of a... well... sexually charged glamorous bad boy. Another worthy trade-off for the song and dance.

The play tells you exactly what kind of evening you're in for almost immediately. Four actors enter with enormous copies of 'Dracula' and solemnly announce that they are about to explore bloodthirsty monsters, helpless victims, life, death, and the human condition... and then somebody points out that there's also 'a hot guy who takes off his shirt.'

One of the best things about the show is that there are only five actors. Dracula remains Dracula, because apparently eternal life also comes with excellent job security. The talented ensemble of local performers who inhabit these roles include Theresa Chambers, Sawyer Richmond, Sadie Shannon, Jason Shipps and Reed Uthe. TIP Associate Artistic Director Guy Gardner directs.