Review: DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at Revolution Stage Company

Revolution Stage has a major winner in its production of DRACULA: A Comedy of Terrors, a non-musical farce by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen.

Halloween shows follow certain patterns: They’re almost always scary, at least in spots, they’re almost always bloody, they usually have minor key creepy music, they’re often Gothic, and they’re often romantic. DRACULA: A Comedy of Terrors is all those things, but it has something more: Hilarity — a screwball combination of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, MONTY PYTHON, and BLAZING SADDLES, with a boatload of anachronisms, puns, and double entendres.

As best as I can sum up this screwball comedy that takes place mostly in England in 1897, Lucy (Danielle Vargas) is a fearless young woman who lives with her widowed male chauvinist father, Dr. Westfeldt (Rebecca McWilliams), a man who tries to rehabilitate criminals. Lucy is engaged to her childhood friend, real estate agent Jonathan Harker (SAG-AFTRA member Jackson Tropp), who is afraid of EVERYTHING. Count Dracula (Sean Timothy Brown) hears about Lucy from Jonathan and buys several houses to be near her and to woo her, vampire style. But he winds up biting Lucy’s far less desirable, albeit sex-crazed sister, Mina (Adam Hieter), who becomes dangerously anemic. Dr. Westfeldt summons vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing (also Adam Hieter) and is shocked and pleased that Dr. Van Helsing is actually a woman. Wait till you see how Dr. Van Helsing and Mina manage to appear in the same conversation!

The play is largely a jumbled stew of people trying to fix their love lives. The acting, directing (by Nathan Wilson), and production values are fabulous. Four of the five cast members play multiple roles, and brilliantly change their appearance, their accents, and their facial expressions. I honestly could not at first recognize Rebecca Williams in some of her multiple roles even though I know her well. There are male characters chasing women, female characters chasing men, and male characters chasing men. There are also women playing men and vice versa.

Farces have to be cleverly written, brilliantly directed and acted, and, in my opinion, have to take themselves seriously enough to employ the same high quality of sets, lighting, sound, props, and costumes that would appear in a drama. This whole cast pulls off a difficult script that calls for fast pacing and physicality. Sean Timothy Brown, whose top-notch acting I’ve seen in several productions before, is highly drool-worthy in a role that requires the face and body of a Greek god.

I also want to offer kudos to sound designer Bailey Godfrey and lighting designer Duke Core, who pull off effects worthy of Broadway. I don’t want to give too much away, but watch for how Dracula manages to appear suddenly in various locations. Also pay attention to how actors manage conversations with themselves — no, it’s not the usual comedy method of moving back and forth to show that they’re different people. Nathan Cox’s projections beautifully create the illusion of a mansion. And Michelle Mendoza, the Costume Designer, is a master of late Victorian/Edwardian designs; Ms. Mendoza manages with perfection the contrast between Lucy’s lovely costumes and some of the other characters’ deliberately bizarre and anachronistic apparel.

If someone is looking for ridiculous Halloween hilarity, this is the show to see. I highly recommend it.

The rest of the able crew consists of Corin Frost (props and rehearsal stage manager), Miguel Lauro and Paul Mariani (set constructionudio operator), and Mariah Pryor (production stage manager).

Revolution Stage Company is located at  611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, in the same shopping center as the Palm Springs Revivals. DRACULA: A comedy of Terrors will run for four more performances, Thursday through Sunday, October 29th through November 1st, at 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. (The Sunday performance was added recently). Tickets range from $33 to $43. For more information and to purchase tickets to Revolution’s plays, musicals, cabarets, or special events, go to the Web site, at www.RevolutionStageCompany.com.

Revolution’s plays and musicals for the rest of the 2026-27 season consist of:

• Urinetown: The Musical — Nov 13–29
• Pig Butchered (new play by Tim Mulligan) — Dec 10–20
• Merman's Apprentice: A Musical Fable — Jan 16–31, 2027
• Merrily We Roll Along — Feb 12–28
• Sweet Charity — Mar 12–28
• Extremities — Apr 8–18
• Lucky Stiff — Apr 30–May 16
• The Motherf***er with the Hat — May 28–Jun 6

PHOTO CREDIT: Tara Howard Photography for Revolution Stage Company

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DRACULA A Comedy of Terrors

10/29 - 10/29/2026

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