{"id":38299,"date":"2025-11-05T00:06:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T00:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/38299\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T00:06:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T00:06:28","slug":"god-good-and-garlic-repel-the-dark-forces-of-count-dracula-on-stage-with-sunnyvale-community-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/38299\/","title":{"rendered":"God, Good and Garlic Repel the Dark Forces of Count Dracula on Stage with Sunnyvale Community Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

Close on the heels of its season opening with the sci-fi comedy, rock musical \u201cThe Little Shop of Horrors\u201d<\/a> in September, Sunnyvale Community Players once again asks its audience to believe the unbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to believe that which you cannot,\u201d says the good Professor Van Helsing\u2014a Dutch doctor and vampire hunter\u2014in this thrilling and bold interpretation of the 1996 \u201cDracula\u201d by American playwright Steven Dietz, playing Oct. 25 \u2013 Nov. 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching this thrilling adaptation of \u2018Dracula\u2019 was a fantastic way to celebrate the Halloween season<\/a>,\u201d said Sunnyvale resident Rachel Beck, wearing all black on Oct. 26, champagne opening weekend.<\/p>\n

SPONSORED<\/p>\n

\"Sutter\"Sutter<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI felt it viscerally. It was a very intense experience. Time passed quickly,\u201d said Rachel\u2019s mom, Marilyn Beck, also from Sunnyvale. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t scary\u2014there was almost no blood. But it was disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The setting is dark with low lights and black set props against a sometimes blood-red backdrop. A shadow ensemble of black-caped creatures writhe and undulate across the stage. The spider- and bird-eating lunatic Renfield\u2014a disciple of Dracula\u2014lashes out from his cell in a lunatic asylum. Haunting, percussive sounds wash across the stage. Dracula is dressed in deep red and black.<\/p>\n

\u201cDracula\u201d is a classic tale of good against evil set in the late 1800s. God-fearing, at-first-disbelieving Londoners try to stop the evil that Count Dracula, a vampire from Transylvania, wreaks when he comes to London in search of new blood. How can good prevail against vampires stalking the city?<\/p>\n

Can a Christian cross held high be enough to keep Dracula at bay? Perhaps a garland of garlic or a small cross worn around the neck of the virtuous Lucy, Mina and Mina\u2019s fianc\u00e9, Johathan? Ultimately, Dracula can only be stopped by a stake through the heart and beheading.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a dark, intense, and sensually\u00a0immersive production of \u2018Dracula.\u2019 We\u2019ve embraced the exploration of fear and sexuality that Dracula represents,\u201d said show director Sinjin Jones<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a show for those that love the original story but may be looking for a darker, more adventurous take.\u201d<\/p>\n

As with \u201cThe Little Shop of Horrors,\u201d there is a double cast<\/a> for \u201cDracula.\u201d \u00a0Eighteen actors perform in alternating Castle and Asylum stagings.<\/p>\n

\u201cDouble casting is way\u00a0just to get more folks involved in the adventure,\u201d said Jones, a Santa Clara resident. \u201cIt\u2019s extremely challenging and quite an adventure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe named characters in one cast join the ensemble of the other. So essentially, every member of the cast has to know two completely different tracks,\u201d Jones continued.<\/p>\n

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Dietz\u2019s 1996 stage play<\/a> is based on Irish novelist Bram Stoker\u2019s Gothic horror novel \u201cDracula,\u201d written a century earlier in 1897. Stoker\u2019s novel was published just years after the never-identified Jack the Ripper\u2014 active from 1888-1891\u2014terrorized London.<\/p>\n

\u201cStoker was a sexist man writing in the 1800s,\u201d pointed out Jones.<\/p>\n

Jones updated the power dynamics of Stoker\u2019s novel by expanding the roles of Lucy and Mina (both lusted after by Dracula) and by casting women in traditionally male roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel empowered in this role,\u201d said Cupertino resident Gahl Shottan, playing Dracula in the Asylum cast like a hungry, crafty wolf on the prowl. \u201cIt is such a treat to be cast in true gender-blind casting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth productions are full of terror and sensuality. But each has a different take and a unique perspective from the performers,\u201d said Jones. \u201cI\u2019d, of course, recommend seeing both!<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something intoxicating about exploring classic horror<\/a>,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Visit the Sunnyvale Community Players<\/a> website for tickets. Performances are in the Sunnyvale Community Center complex theater, 550 E. Remington Dr.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not for the faint of heart or those who are looking to lean into the comedy of \u2018Dracula,\u2019\u201d cautioned Jones. \u201cAnd I would suggest some consideration before bringing the kids.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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SPONSORED<\/p>\n

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