New York City’s spooky season is in full swing with the return of the popular show “Drunk Dracula.”
After becoming a smash hit last year, The Drunk Shakespeare Society brought back “Drunk Dracula” for its third official New York City run for the fall season. Adapted from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” the show, written by Lori Wolter Hudson, follows the titular character as he plans to take a bite out of the Big Apple, but not without hijinks.
Because this is the Drunk Shakespeare Society, alcohol, of course, plays a role in the stage show. At the top of every performance, an actor in the cast is chosen to take four shots of alcohol before the show gets going, with the option to take two more as the show progresses.
“The drunk element adds to the show in the way that telling a funny story at a bar and having a few drinks adds to the show. The details get a little heightened, the story gets a little embellished, and you get your own personal flavor put into it if you’re the drunk actor,” said Howard Hendrix Powell, who plays Dracula.
This year’s company of “Drunk Dracula” includes Powell, Gracie Lee Brown, Ryan Farnsworth, Morgan Haney, Craig Jackson, Sarah Leahy, Travis Raeburn, Ali Reagan, Brandon Salerno, Mishka Varovoy, and Sky Young. The show was co-created by Hudson, Lisa Klages Calhoun, Scott Griffin, and David Hudson, and directed by Kayla Walker.
Throughout the show, viewers can take part in elements of the performance, helping further the plot as Dracula makes his way to the big city. Powell told amNewYork that during his runs as the drunk actor in the show, he was surprised at how quickly the comfortable the audience was getting involved.
“I was very surprised, when I was playing Dracula, at how easily the audience would allow themselves to be hypnotized. A few times I gesticulated with my hand as a joke, and then the audience would fall out of their seats or women would just join me on stage,” said Powell. “It was always surprising how much the audience was willing to be a participant and totally get lost in the experience.”
Howard Hendrix Powell as Dracula in “Drunk Dracula.”
While “Drunk Dracula” has a story that it follows, the cool thing about the show is that a different drunk actor can bring the show in a new direction.
“What’s really cool about this process is because the actor is drunk and they’re making up new bits and improvising and changing the script. As we revisit the script year and year, you can find bits that were improvised in one night and then get added into the core script,” said Powell.
Guests receive a welcome shot upon arrival and are able to order themed cocktails and snacks during the show (there’s even a built-in drinking game), but you can’t buy drinks for the performers. And if you don’t drink alcohol, that’s okay — audience members don’t have to drink to enjoy or take part in the show, and there are plenty of non-alcoholic options for the guests to partake in.
“I would say one of the biggest common misconceptions is that you need to be drunk in the audience to have a good time or that you need to be somebody who is totally trashed and wasted to enjoy the show. That is not the case at all. The show is just as fun for non-drinkers as it is for drinkers,” said Powell.
Drunk Dracula runs through Nov. 7 at The Ruby Theatre, located at 35 West 39th St. Tickets start at $59 and are available at drunkdracula.com/nyc. You must be 21+ to attend.