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This is Dracula
The monster living men would kill
Tulsa Ballet’s Alfonso Martin and Soo Youn Cho. J.P. Wilson / The Oklahoman
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Published: 10/29/2009 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 10/29/2009 7:06 AM
When the Houston Ballet gave the world premiere of Ben Stevenson's ballet of "Dracula," much was made of the fact that the $1 million production was done in honor of the 100th anniversary of Bram Stoker's gothic novel.
Never mind the fact that, in creating the ballet, Stevenson metaphorically tossed the novel in the trash.
"Well, I kept Dracula, of course," Stevenson said, with a sly chuckle. "And the character of Renfield is one that has been a part of many versions of the story. But the rest of it — well, there was just no way to make it work as a ballet."
Stevenson wrote his own story, about Dracula, his 18 brides and his efforts to add two young women from the nearby village to his undead harem.
He then augmented his choreography with lavish sets and costumes, and special effects ranging from flying dancers to exploding chandeliers.
"The flying effects were necessary, because I wanted the piece to have this additional layer of fantasy," Stevenson said. "It gives the brides this ghostly weightlessness, and actually that makes them a little scarier."
Stevenson first came up with the idea of doing a ballet based on Dracula when he was working with the American Ballet Theatre. Kevin McKenzie, then the company's principal male dancer, asked Stevenson about creating a ballet for him.
"I told him I would think about it, and that evening I turned on the television and there was Bela Lugosi in 'Dracula,' " Stevenson said. "Now Kevin is this tall, thin, darkly handsome fellow, and I could see him as Dracula."
However, that project never came about, and Stevenson put the idea "on the back burner" until 1997, when he was artistic director at Houston Ballet.
"The way I see Dracula is there has to be an elegance about him," Stevenson said. "He's a nobleman, a count, so he needs to have that quality. And there needs to be an attractiveness to him — he lures people in, almost hypnotizing them in a way.
"But then, of course, he ends up killing these people," he said. "When he does that, you see the demon inside him come out. And you recognize that, in spite of everything, he's evil."
TULSA BALLET'S "DRACULA"
ACT I: The Crypt of Dracula's Castle
In the evening, Count Dracula and his wives awaken in their coffins in the crypt of his castle. In order to satisfy the lust of the Count, his most trusted henchman, Renfield, arrives in a coach with Flora, a lovely young girl from the village.
ACT II: The Village
The innkeeper and his wife are celebrating with the villagers the 18th birthday of their daughter Svetlana. Frederick, a young man from the village, is in love with her and asks the innkeeper for her hand in marriage. At the height of the festivities, Count Dracula, who has been informed of the beauty of Svetlana, arrives to abduct her.
ACT III: The Bedroom of Count Dracula
Flora and the other brides await the return of Count Dracula. He enters with Svetlana, who is to become his next bride. At the climax of her initiation, Frederick, accompanied by the priest and the innkeeper, storm into the Count's bedroom in an attempt to save her.
OUT THERE
IN THE DARK
Even though “Dracula” the novel
has never been out of print, it took
the movies — and a few changes in
society — to make Stoker’s villain
into a pop culture phenomenon.
The 1922 film “Nosferatu” was
the first time the Dracula story was
adapted for film — with changes
in title and character to avert a
threatened lawsuit by Stoker’s
widow. The vampire in this film is
a rat-like creature called Count Orlock,
played by actor Max Schreck.
The more familiar image
of Dracula — the aristocratic
foreigner with the swept-back
hair, the hypnotizing stare,
the tuxedo, swirling cape and
the prominent incisors, who
takes the concept of “lady
killer” to a whole new level
— was established first on
the stage, when a little-known
Hungarian actor named Bela
Lugosi won the title role in
the 1927 New York production
of the Hamilton Deane-John
Balderston play.
Lugosi’s characterization,
captured for eternity
in the 1931 film, became
the standard for the next
40 years or so, as seen in
Christopher Lee’s various
portrayals and even in
knock-offs such as “Count
Yorga: Vampire,” the TV
movie “The Night Stalker”
and in comic versions that
include George Hamilton
(“Love at First Bite”) and
Leslie Nielsen (“Dracula:
Dead and Loving It”).
These days, Dracula’s
sons and daugh
ters are everywhere,
from the swamps
of Louisiana (HBO’s
“True Blood,” based on
Charlaine Harris’ novels),
the blue-tinged forrests
of Washington state
(Stephenie Meyer’s
“Twilight” series), even
a high school in Jenks
(the “House of Night”
series by Tulsa authors
P.C. and Kristin Cast).
THE BOOK THAT
WOULDN’T DIE
Published in 1897, “Dracula”
received almost unanimous praise
from critics as a classic of Gothic
horror and was moderately successful
with Victorian audiences.
While few will argue that
“Dracula” is great literature, most
who read it will agree that it remains
a powerfully effective story of horror
and suspense.
Part of that effectiveness is the way in which the novel is told — through
letters, diaries and journals of sophisticated, rational people who
are trying first to comprehend and then somehow defeat, something
inexplicably, inhumanly evil.
But another reason is the character
of Count Dracula. Just as
stoker managed to stuff
his tale with just about
every convention of
the gothic novel,
Count Dracula has
been a symbol of
both the allure and
the danger of all
the things about
which our mothers
warned us.
Sex is why
Dracula is one
of the most
portrayed characters
in history,
and why
the vampire
archetype
stoker established
is
everywhere
these days.
By JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
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