Previews: DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS at Straz Center
On stage September 16-October 26
Running September 16- October 26, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a fang-tastic 90-minute romp through gothic absurdity, packed with lightning-fast costume changes, clever wordplay, and pop culture chaos at the Straz Center.
This reimagined classic follows a timid English real estate agent on a perilous journey to meet his mysterious new client—none other than the infamous Count himself. As vampire hunter Jean Van Helsing and her crew chase Dracula from Transylvania to London and back, the result is a pulse-raising parade of slapstick and satire.
Actor Kelly Bashar, who plays the delightfully pompous Dr. Westfeldt, is reveling in the madness. “I was absolutely delighted,” she says of first reading the part. “When I lived in Los Angeles, I was part of an all-female improv group named SHREW that would do completely improvised Shakespeare plays. I almost always ended up playing the blow hard dude or the horrible misogynistic father. It’s one of my favorite things to play.”
Westfeldt may be a blustering buffoon, but Bashar grounds him in something real. “I think I balance it by remembering he’s a father who really loves his daughters, and I get a few moments to show that in the play. He thinks he’s a great guy!”
Bashar lights up when talking about her favorite moments on stage. “I love the moments when there’s heat between my character and Dr. Van Helsing. Paul Vogt, who is playing the lady doctor, is one of my best friends in the world and getting to do this together it’s just ridiculous fun. Also, I’m obsessed with the line ‘lovely jubbly.’”
The show’s breakneck pace and slapstick chaos demand serious stamina. “This show is like a ride that once you get on you can’t get off until the very end,” Bashar explains. “There’s no real break even when you’re not on stage. I actually love that kind of show. The show has such a rhythm and I think lives and dies on the cleanness of that rhythm, so everyone has to be top of their game. Luckily, this cast is fantastic and can do that.”
That cast is constantly switching roles, sprinting through costume changes, and juggling identities. “I feel like the only theatrical relay race I’m having is with myself!” Bashar laughs. “When everybody else is playing, whoever they’re playing, I’m not seeing the changes. But I go back-and-forth between some characters so fast that it makes my head spin.”
She’s no stranger to backstage madness. “I have a change in this show that is absolutely cuckoo, but in the last show I did at the Straz, The Boy Who Loved Batman, I had a whole costume section backstage for some quick changes because I played 5 different characters.”
As for Westfeldt’s reaction to Dracula’s arrival? “I think he actually takes it in pretty good stride, but I also think he’s one of the last to understand what’s happening.” That cluelessness is part of the charm—and the comedy.
This Dracula is more than just camp—it’s a reflection of the times. “This Dracula is so campy and fun and fluid. I truly think there is something or someone for everyone in this show. I think the way we play with gender and sexuality and romance is perfect for our times.”
The production’s theatrical flair is matched by its cleverness. “We have a fantastic behind-the-scenes team and are so well supported with lights, sound, beautiful costumes, a great crew. And then there are these moments that would be epic in say, the movie, but we do them in a clever but humorous way that I think balances the theatrical with the funny.”
Asked to describe the show in three words that aren’t “funny,” “fast,” or “fangs,” Bashar doesn’t miss a beat: “Bawdy, bloody, batty.”
Dracula: A Comedy of Terror is September 16- October 26 at the Straz Center. Learn more and buy tickets at strazcenter.org/events/2526-season/broadway/dracula-a-comedy-of-terrors.
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