Newnan Theatre Company Presents DRACULA, Now thru 11/1

Newnan Theatre Company is carrying on with its Halloween "Month of Terror" schedule by presenting Steven Deitz's Dracula, opening tonight, October 22, and running thru Nov. 1. NTC is doing a special Halloween Night presentation beginning at 10 pm and ending after midnight of All Hallow's Eve, so everyone can do their trick-or-treating and then come see the show.

Director Tony Daniel has been excited to do this show for a while now. "Everyone knows the story of Count Dracula, but this version is much more faithful to the book than the traditional version seen on stage since the 1920's. Bela Lugosi was brought over from Hungary specifically to do the original stage version in New York, and that version has been the norm for decades. Steven Deitz took the story back to its roots, the vicious, bloody roots. And personally, I love that."

The story, of course, is well-known. Count Dracula has moved from his Transylvania castle to Victorian London because the Transylvanian citizens are dying out at his hand. He needs a new source of sustenance, and London is full of people, who are ripe with blood. Dr. John Seward, Jonathan Harker, and Dr. Abraham Van Helsing try to stop the Count before he can make Harker's bride-to-be, Mina, as his own dark mistress. The Count's psychic slave, Renfield, is locked in the asylum run by Seward, but Renfield is sure The Count will save him and give him the dark gift of eternal life.

Two newcomers to the Newnan Theatre Company spotlight hold the main roles in the show. Dominick Crea is playing Count Dracula, and Dmitri Tokarsky has the role of the Count's nemesis, Dr Van Helsing. "This role has been played by so many classic actors." says Tokarsky, "I had to see if I could join those guys. Luckily, I have the chance!" Tokarsky is a recent transplant from California and plans on staying with Newnan Theatre Company for a while. "There are wonderful people in this group," he says, "and they welcomed me in as if I had been here forever."

Also in the cast are Andrew Miller as the lunatic with a heart, Renfield, and Katie MacLaughlan and Allison Yost, who play Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray. "Miss Westenra" is the first victim of the Count's evil plan. "I get to go from being a young woman in love with three suitors to being turned into a vampire," says MacLaughlan. "What could be better than that?"

Yost's character, Mina, is a strong Victorian woman who resists The Count as much as she can, and, in the end, survives his evil scheme. "I love my character," says Yost. "She becomes the rallying person on the team trying to defeat Dracula. She is never the classic victim. She fights back."

This production of Dracula will not be the one people are used to. "The traditional version is very melodramatic, making The Count a more romantic figure, more tragic. We are telling the story as Stoker originally wrote it, and it is a bloody, scary tale," says Daniel. "What's Halloween without a really good scare? We have plenty of surprises in store for our patrons. Just wait and see." The wink Daniel gives as he tells this only confirms his enjoyment of a good fright.

Steven Deitz's Dracula opens on Thursday, October 22nd and runs through Sunday, November 1st. Shows will be at 8 pm on October 22nd - 29th and 30th. The two Sunday shows will have a special starting time of 7 pm, and the special Halloween Night show will start at 10 pm. Guests are welcome to wear their scariest costumes to the show. If there are any questions about these performances, please contact Newnan Theatre Company's Artistic Director Tony Daniel at 770.683.6282 or through the Newnan Theatre Company website, www.newnantheatre.org .

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