Had enough of vampires?
Beowulf Alley Theatre is hoping not - the company previews Don Nigro's "The Transylvanian Clockworks" tonight and opens it Saturday.
This isn't your typical adaptation of the Bram Stoker Dracula tale, said Dave Sewell, director of the production.
"It's an amazing little play," Sewell said in a phone interview this week.
"It's a psychological thriller wrapped in a dark comedy. . . . It's less about fangs and blood, and more about fear of intimacy."
The story takes place in 1888 London. Shenanigans courtesy of Jack the Ripper and Dracula are making it clear that evil exists. Fear - of death, violence and women who seem to burst their bodices and embrace their sexuality - is pervasive.
Evan Engle, left, and Bill Epstein appear in Don Nigro's "The Transylvanian Clockworks"
Nigro has used the vampire tale as a launching point to examine our own dual natures, Sewell said.
"It's interesting, challenging, provocative theater, but there are very funny moments," he added.
"What you don't get is a camp version of 'Dracula.' "
The play "upends assumptions about iconic heroes and villains, and explores the psychological underpinnings of familiar characters," the Seattle Times said about the 1977 play.
Sewell loves the unexpectedness of this version of the Dracula story.
And he loves that there is more than a thriller to keep the audience hooked - particularly, the play's ability to make us look at ourselves and our own dark sides.
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Read the entire article here: http://azstarnet.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/article_fad7faae-957c-5311-8af1-c268b2ee775f.html
