DRACULA OR HOW'S YOUR BLOOD COUNT Takes A Bite Out Of The Lime Kiln Theater 9/24-26

Come meet a vampire (or four or five) at Theater at Lime Kiln. Fear not, your life's not in danger - only your eardrums! There should be plenty of howls of laughter, as Theater at Lime Kiln takes the New Vic Theatre of London version of Bram Stoker classic novel and turns it into a crackling, tongue-in-cheek farce. If you've seen a New Vic show before, you'll know what to expect - action which regularly spills over into the audience.

Dracula, or How’s Your Blood Count? has all the bits, all the gags, all the antics one should expect from someone who was thrown out of Buckingham Palace for actually having the audacity to make the Queen chuckle. New Vic creator Micky O'Donoughue was born into one of Ireland's oldest theatre families. As one of the youngest babies ever born, he was educated at an early age due to youth. Micky worked extensively with the English Shakespeare Company director Michael Bogdanov and both the Old Vic and Young Vic in London. This comedic genius played the parts that seemingly were made up just for him:

    * Beth in Macbeth
    * Smokey in Tobacco Road
    * Snowman in The Winter's Tale
    * Anus in Coriolanus
    * Drummer in Cymbelline
    * Felix in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
    * Orange in Julius Caesar

O’Donoughue collaborated with fellow Brit, playwright Johnny Hanrahan, on Dracula. The play was originally directed by English Shakespeare Company director Alan Cohen. Lime Kiln Arts handed the crucifix and garlic to Chattanooga, Tennessee native Tom Conway. Conway, a longtime member of the Lime Kiln family, returned to Lexington in July to perform in the return of Stonewall Country. Conway calls Dracula “the craziest comedy ever to hit Lime Kiln.”

Mark Cline is Vlad the Impaler, or is that Vlad Sure Looks Paler? Known for his immense artistic talent, his large-scale April Fool’s jokes, Foamhenge, and Enchanted Castle Studios, Cline is a consummate entertainment entrepreneur/community promoter. With his wife and partner, Sherry, he has created attractions and events in many parts of Rockbridge County, including the Haunted Monster Museum and Dark Maze, Dinosaur Kingdom, Haunting Tales (Lexington’s Ghost Tours) and “Hallowscream.” At Christmas he becomes the Grinch. Every once in awhile you might catch one of his amazing impressions of Barney Fife, Ernest or Johnny Cash. 

In Dracula Cline uses his multifaceted talents to realize his own vision of the count. As in the Bram Stoker account, Cline’s Dracula becomes younger and more virile after leaving Transylvania and arriving in England. He transforms into the irresistible nosferatu, an undead prince with minions and several vampire brides. 

Rockbridge native Rob Mish is the first actor besides O’Donoughue to tackle the dual roles of Van Helsing and his nephew Archibald Renfield. Mish is a former Chairman of the Lime Kiln Board of Directors and serves as Executive Director of the Lenfest Center for the Arts at Washington and Lee University. “Rob has an amazing loony quality!” said Kim Renz, Executive Director of Lime Kiln. “Both the vampire hunter and the insect eater seem way too close to the mark,” he laughed.

Two new members have been added to the cast in recent weeks. Sara Mason, a student at Rockbridge County High School, plays the innocent-turned-vamp Lucy, and Mary Harvey adds her presence at the keyboard. Adding this dimension to the farce completes its journey to melodrama, which Renz calls perfectly appropriate. “This play is making a journey to becoming a full-blown musical one day. With live music to enhance the mood, the audience will get a feeling of a silent movie, only without the subtitles. This is a great enhancement.”

Lenfest Center Production Manager and Lime Kiln Technical Director John Lindberg is creating the sound and lighting designs. The cast are creating their own costumes, with help from the Clines. RCHS student Joe Wallace is assisting Conway. 

“Theatre is about community,” concluded Renz. “Whether it’s children’s theatre or the highest level of professional theatre, our job is to bring the community together to enrich them, to enlighten them, to educate them and to entertain them. This play is about making people laugh. What greater aspiration could we espouse than that?”

Tickets for Dracula or How’s Your Blood Count? are on sale at Rockbridge Music and Lexington Visitors Center or by calling the Lime Kiln office. The gate and concessions open at 6:30pm. Performances start at 7:30.

Adults: $15 in advance, $20 at the gate; Seniors: $12 in advance, $15 at the gate; Students: $8 in advance, $10 at the gate. Children 6 and under are admitted free of charge.

For more information, visit theateratlimekiln.com.

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