''Dracula'' is a stage play written by the Irish actor and playwright
Hamilton Deane
Hamilton Deane (1880 – 25 October 1958) was an Irish actor, playwright and director. He played a key role in popularising Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula'' as a 1924 stage play and a 1931 film.
Biography
Deane was born in New Ross in C ...
in 1924, then revised by the American writer
John L. Balderston in 1927. It was the first authorized adaptation of
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
's 1897 novel ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
''. After touring in England, the original version of the play appeared at London's
Little Theatre in July 1927, where it was seen by the American producer
Horace Liveright
Horace Brisbin Liveright (pronounced "LIVE-right," anglicized by Horace's father from the German ''Liebrecht;'' 10 December 1884 – 24 September 1933) was an American publisher and stage producer. With Albert Boni, he founded the Modern Lib ...
. Liveright asked Balderston to revise the play for a
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
production that opened at the
Fulton Theatre
The Fulton Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in Manhattan, New York City, that was opened in 1911. It was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982. Since the former Little Theatre be ...
in October 1927. This production starred
Bela Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...
in his first major English-speaking role.
In the revised story,
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula'', is an aged Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows hi ...
investigates the mysterious illness of a young woman, Lucy Seward, with the help of her father and fiancé. He discovers she is the victim of
Count Dracula
Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...
, a powerful
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
who is feeding on her blood. The men follow one of Dracula's servants to the vampire's hiding place, where they kill him with a stake to the heart.
The revised version of the play went on a national tour of the United States and replaced the original version in London. It influenced many subsequent adaptations, including the popular
1931 film adaptation starring Lugosi. A 1977 Broadway revival featured art designs by
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other w ...
and starred
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...
. It won the
Tony Award for Best Revival
The Tony Award for Best Revival was given to the best play, musical or non-musical, which had already appeared on Broadway in a previous production. It was presented from 1977, where it was called ''Most Innovative Production of a Revival'' and lat ...
and led to another movie version, also starring Langella.
History
Background
The Irish author
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
wrote the novel ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
'' while working as a manager for
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...
's
Lyceum Theatre in London; he continued to work for Irving after it was published in May 1897. Stoker secured his theatrical rights to the story that same month by holding a
staged reading
A stage reading, also known as a staged reading, is a form of theatre without sets or full costumes.
The actors, who read from scripts, may be seated, stand in fixed positions, or incorporate minimal stage movement.
There is an overlap with t ...
at the Lyceum; this hasty adaptation was never performed again. In 1899,
Hamilton Deane
Hamilton Deane (1880 – 25 October 1958) was an Irish actor, playwright and director. He played a key role in popularising Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula'' as a 1924 stage play and a 1931 film.
Biography
Deane was born in New Ross in C ...
, a young Irish actor whose family owned an estate next to one belonging to Stoker's father, joined Irving's company. In the early 1920s, after both Irving and Stoker had died, Deane founded his own theatrical troupe, the Hamilton Deane Company. He began working on a theatrical version of ''Dracula'' in 1923, and in 1924 he secured the permission of Stoker's widow
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
to stage an authorized adaptation. At the time, Florence Stoker was engaged in a copyright dispute with the German film studio Prana Film over the movie ''
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
'', which adapted the plot of ''Dracula'' without authorization, and she needed the money from the play royalties. Deane's play was the first dramatization authorized by Stoker's estate.
Original production
To stage the production, Deane was required to submit the completed script to the
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...
for a license under the
Theatres Act of 1843. The play was
censored
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
to limit violence – for example, the count's death could not be shown to the audience – but was approved on 15 May 1924.
Deane's ''Dracula'' premiered 5 August 1924 at the
Grand Theatre in Derby, England. Deane had originally intended to play the title role himself, but opted for the role of
Van Helsing
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...
. This production toured England for three years before settling in London, where it opened at the
Little Theatre in the Adelphi
Little Theatre in the Adelphi was a theatre in London, on what is now John Adam Street just west of the Royal Society of Arts. It should not be confused with either the Haymarket Theatre (also known as the Little Theatre) or the Adelphi Theatre ...
on 14 February 1927.
It later transferred to the
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...
and then the
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...
to accommodate larger audiences.
Broadway production
In 1927 the play was brought to
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
by producer
Horace Liveright
Horace Brisbin Liveright (pronounced "LIVE-right," anglicized by Horace's father from the German ''Liebrecht;'' 10 December 1884 – 24 September 1933) was an American publisher and stage producer. With Albert Boni, he founded the Modern Lib ...
, who hired
John L. Balderston to revise the script for American audiences. In addition to radically compressing the plot, Balderston reduced the number of significant characters.
Lucy Westenra
Lucy Westenra is a fictional character in the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. The 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family, she is Mina Murray's best friend and Count Dracula's first English victim. She subsequently transforms into a vam ...
and
Mina Murray
Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker (née Murray) is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''.
In the novel
She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young schoolmistress who is engaged ...
were combined into a single character, making
John Seward
John "Jack" Seward, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula''.
In the novel
Seward is the administrator of an insane asylum not far from Count Dracula's first English home, Carfax. Throughout the nove ...
Lucy's father and disposing of
Quincey Morris
Quincey P. Morris is a fictional character in Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic novel ''Dracula''.
In the novel
He is a rich young American from Texas, and one of the three men who propose to Lucy Westenra. Quincey is friends with her other two suit ...
and
Arthur Holmwood
Arthur "Art" Holmwood (later Lord Godalming) is a fictional character in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel '' Dracula''.
In the novel
Holmwood is engaged to Lucy Westenra, and is best friends with the other two men who proposed to her on the very same ...
. In Deane's original version Quincey was changed to a woman to provide work in the play for more actresses.
Directed by Ira Hards with scenic design by Joseph A. Physioc, ''Dracula'' opened 5 October 1927 at the
Fulton Theatre
The Fulton Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in Manhattan, New York City, that was opened in 1911. It was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982. Since the former Little Theatre be ...
in New York City. It closed on 19 May 1928 after 261 performances. The Broadway production starred
Bela Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...
in his first major English-speaking role;
Edward Van Sloan
Edward Van Sloan (born Edward Paul Van Sloun; November 1, 1882 – March 6, 1964) was an American character actor best remembered for his roles in the Universal Studios horror films such as ''Dracula'' (1931), ''Frankenstein'' (1931), and ''Th ...
as Van Helsing; and
Dorothy Peterson
Bergetta "Dorothy" Peterson (25 December 1897 - 3 October 1979) was an American actress. She began her acting career on Broadway before appearing in more than eighty Hollywood films.
Early years
Peterson was born in Hector, Minnesota, the dau ...
as Lucy Seward.
Raymond Huntley
Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as the pragmatic family so ...
, who had performed the role of Dracula for four years in England, was engaged by Liveright to star in the U.S. touring production. The national tour began 17 September 1928 in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. .
1951 UK tour
By the late 1940s, Lugosi's movie career had stalled, and he hoped to revive it by successfully bringing ''Dracula'' back to the West End. Producers John C. Mather and
William H. Williams staged a touring production across the UK. It premiered at the
Theatre Royal, Brighton
The Theatre Royal, Brighton is a theatre in Brighton, England presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet.
History
In 1806 the Prince of Wales (later George IV) gave Royal Assent fo ...
on 30 April 1951. Lugosi's involvement got considerable press coverage, but the production received little interest from London theatres and never appeared on the West End. The tour ended at the
Theatre Royal, Portsmouth
The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II* listed theatre in the heart of Portsmouth, England, with a capacity of 667. The theatre building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was r ...
on 13 October 1951. It was Lugosi's last performance as Count Dracula.
1977 revival
![Gorey28-crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Gorey28-crop.jpg)
In 1973, the producer
John Wulp
John Wulp (May 31, 1928 – November 27, 2018) was an American scenic designer, producer, director, and artist.
Theatrical career
Wulp's first play, ''The Saintliness of Margery Kempe'', won a Rockefeller Grant and was produced at the Poets' ...
staged the play with the Nantucket Stage Company in
Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
, Massachusetts. He asked
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other w ...
, an illustrator known for his macabre, surrealist imagery, to design the sets and costumes. Gorey, who had never worked in theatre before, created a mostly black-and-white design accented with red. Dennis Rosa directed and
Lloyd Battista
Lloyd McAteer Battista (born May 14, 1937, in Cleveland, Ohio) is a retired American actor and screenwriter.
Biography
Battista studied acting at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He was active on Broadway and off-Broadway stages, appearing ...
starred as Dracula. Wulp subsequently moved the production to the
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
Cherry Lane Theatre
The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, N ...
in New York.
In 1976, the producer Eugene Wolsk decided to revive ''Dracula'' on Broadway, using the Gorey designs. He worked with Wulp and several co-producers, including
Jujamcyn Theaters
Jujamcyn Theaters LLC , formerly the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, is a theatrical producing and theatre-ownership company in New York City. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger, former Chairman of Honeywell, and his wife, Virgi ...
, to stage the revival. The revival opened on 20 October 1977 at Jujamcyn's
Martin Beck Theatre, with Rosa directing. It closed on 6 January 1980 after 925 performances.
The original cast of the revival included
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...
as
Count Dracula
Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...
(later replaced by
Raúl Juliá
Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...
), Alan Coates as
Jonathan Harker, Jerome Dempsey as
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula'', is an aged Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows hi ...
, Dillon Evans as Dr. Seward, Baxter Harris as Butterworth, Richard Kavanaugh as R. M. Renfield, Gretchen Oehler as Miss Wells, and Ann Sachs as Lucy Seward.
The show won two
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
s for
Most Innovative Production of a Revival and
Best Costume Design (Edward Gorey).
The Broadway producers established a road company that toured the U.S. in 1978 and 1979, with
Jean LeClerc as Dracula and
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
as Van Helsing.
Jeremy Brett starred as Dracula in Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago. The U.S. revival also sparked a new production in London, where it opened on 13 September 1978 at the Shaftsbury Theatre.
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...
took the title role, with
Derek Godfrey
Derek Godfrey (3 June 1924 – 18 June 1983) was an English actor, associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1960, who also appeared in several films and BBC television dramatisations during the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in London, he perfor ...
as Van Helsing and
Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres (born 7 December 1946) is an English actress, director and producer. Active since 1970, Ayres is well known for her role in the 1997 film ''Titanic'', in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon. Her husband, Martin Jarvis, playe ...
as Lucy.
Plot of the play
Plot of original version by H. Deane
Jonathan Harker and Dr. Seward discuss the condition of Harker’s wife, Mina. She has had bad dreams and grows pale and weak. Dr. Seward has sent for Professor Van Helsing. They also talk about Harkers' extravagant new neighbor, Count Dracula. Harker helped him to buy property in London, including Carfax Abbey, next door to both the Harkers’ residence and to Dr. Seward’s asylum. Dracula, meanwhile, comes on a visit and hypnotizes the Harkers’ maid to do his bidding at his command. Abraham Van Helsing arrives to help with Mina’s case. Seward tells Van Helsing about Lucy Westenra, a friend of Mina's, who complained about bad dreams and had two small marks on her throat before inexplicably wasting away and dying. Seward was in love with Lucy, but she chose his friend, Lord Godalming, instead. Van Helsing sends for Mrs. Harker, who tells Van Helsing about her bad dreams. Upon examination, he finds two small marks on her neck. Van Helsing also meets Harker, Godalming and Quincy Morris, a young feisty American girl and close friend of the Harkers, as well as of Godalming and Seward. Suddenly Mina tries to leave the room in a trance, saying “He is calling me," but Van Helsing stops her and persuades her to go to her room to rest. He asks Miss Morris to fetch a package he had shipped in from Holland and urges Harker and Godalming to keep an eye on Mina and to not leave her alone even for a moment. Van Helsing tells Seward that Mina has been attacked by a vampire, an undead creature that feeds on the blood of the living. They hear a commotion coming from Dr. Seward’s asylum from one of his patients called Renfield, who is obsessed with eating flies. After Seward leaves to check on him, Van Helsing is approached by Dracula. Van Helsing points to him that he didn’t notice how he entered the room, as he didn’t see his reflection in room’s mirror. Dracula considers smashing the mirror, but changes his mind. Miss Morris returns with a parcel for Van Helsing, who shows Dracula what he has prescribed for Mina - garlic flowers. This enrages Dracula, who promptly leaves. Van Helsing decides to watch Mina in her sleep to catch the vampire. He invites Mina to come lie down on the couch. After Van Helsing turns off the lights, Dracula appears in the dark near Mina, expressing his pleasure of seeing her alone at last, causing her to scream. When others burst into the room and switch on the lights, Dracula has vanished. Moments later, Dracula returns through the door the others had just entered and asks if Mina is better.
Van Helsing, Harker, Seward and Miss Morris gather to discuss what they have learned. Van Helsing says that Dracula is the vampire, who is causing Mina’s illness and they must stop him, but nobody else must know about it. They hear Renfield laugh and realize he has been spying on them. Renfield enters and asks to be sent away to save his soul. Mina and Godalming join the group and Renfield begs Mina to leave the place in order to save herself. Renfield is interrupted when a bat flies past, outside the window. He calls the bat "Master" and swears he is loyal. He is taken away back to his room. Van Helsing hangs garlic flowers around Mina’s neck and instructs her not to remove them. They leave Mina as she is about to go to bedroom. Suddenly she feels dizzy, the maid enters and removes the flowers. Just as the maid is about to open the window, she sees a bat flutter against the glass, trying to enter, and runs to fetch Harker. The window’s glass breaks, billowing mist creeps into the room, solidifying into Dracula as Mina looks on in horror.
Three days later Godalming, Harker and Miss Morris have located and purified five of Dracula's boxes of earth, leaving the sixth in Carfax to trap the Count there. Miss Morris also points to latest newspaper describing mysterious cases of missing children, who tell stories of spending the night with a strange beautiful lady and were found in the morning with wounds on their necks. Van Helsing explains that the wounds were caused by undead Lucy and that they should put a stake through her heart to save her soul after they're done with Dracula - much to the shock of Godalming. When others leave the room, Renfield bursts in and begs remaining Dr. Seward to save him, as Dracula intends to kill Renfield for betraying him. Seward runs to fetch Van Helsing, but Dracula appears and snaps Renfield's neck, breaking his spine. Dracula wants to leave but is thwarted by Seward, Van Helsing, Godalming, Miss Morris and Harker, who block the exits and close in on Dracula. Dracula snarls at them and vanishes. The men go to Carfax, where they find Dracula in his coffin and drive a stake through his heart. Miss Morris and Mina stand in the doorway. Mina covers her face with her hands as Dracula is staked. Van Helsing says a short prayer.
Plot of revised version by John L. Balderston
![Bram Stoker photogravure by Downey (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Bram_Stoker_photogravure_by_Downey_%28cropped%29.jpg)
John Harker visits his fiancée, Lucy Seward, at the
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
run by her father, Doctor Seward. Abraham Van Helsing arrives to help with Lucy's case. Seward tells Van Helsing about Mina Weston, a friend of Lucy's who complained about bad dreams and had two small marks on her throat, then wasted away and died. R. M. Renfield, a
lunatic
Lunatic is an antiquated term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or crazy—conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from ''lunaticus'' meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck".
History
The ter ...
patient who has been eating insects, enters and asks to be sent away to save his soul. Van Helsing waves
wolfsbane at Renfield, who jumps back and becomes enraged. An attendant drags Renfield away. Lucy tells Van Helsing about her bad dreams, and he finds two small marks on her neck. Count Dracula, a visitor from
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
who stays nearby, arrives to offer help with Lucy. When Dracula leaves, Van Helsing tells Seward and Harker that Lucy has been attacked by a
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
, an undead creature that feeds on the blood of the living. They can exist for centuries, have
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
powers, and hate the smell of wolfsbane. Van Helsing considers whether Dracula might be the vampire, but dismisses the idea because vampires must sleep in the soil where they were buried, and Dracula is not from England. He decides to watch Lucy in her sleep to catch the vampire. After Van Helsing turns off the lights, Dracula appears in the dark near Lucy, causing her to scream. When Van Helsing switches on the lights, they see a bat fly out the window. Moments later Dracula comes back through the door and asks if Lucy is better.
The next evening, Dracula hypnotizes Lucy's maid, saying he will send her orders. Van Helsing, Harker, and Seward gather to discuss what they have learned during the day. Harker reveals that Dracula arrived three days before Mina became ill, and he had six large boxes of Transylvanian dirt with him. Van Helsing realizes Dracula is able to stay in England by sleeping in these boxes. He says they must purify the boxes with holy water so they will no longer be usable by a vampire. They hear Renfield laugh and realize he has been spying on them. Renfield says Van Helsing's plan is the only way to save his soul and Lucy's. Renfield is interrupted when a bat flies in the room. He calls the bat "Master" and swears he is loyal. The bat flies away, and the attendant takes Renfield back to his room. After the others leave, Dracula returns and attacks Van Helsing, who repels him with a bag of
sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...
. Van Helsing tells Seward and Harker he has proof that Dracula is a vampire. Van Helsing identifies him as “the terrible
Voivode Dracula himself.” He places wolfsbane and a crucifix in Lucy's room, but the hypnotized maid removes them so Dracula can enter.
The next night just before sunrise, Seward and Van Helsing have purified five of Dracula's boxes of earth, but did not find the sixth. Lucy attempts to seduce Harker and bite him, but Van Helsing stops her with a crucifix. Van Helsing plans to lure Dracula into the house and trap him there until sunrise. Dracula arrives and says he will return to his box for a century, but will then rise and claim Lucy from her grave. As the sun rises, Dracula escapes up the chimney. Renfield follows him using a hidden passage behind a bookcase. The men follow Renfield into an underground vault, where they find Dracula asleep in his box and drive a stake through his heart. After the theatre's curtain falls, Van Helsing addresses the audience with a warning that "there are such things".
Characters and cast
1924 original
Deane's 1924 version of the play had several significant productions with different casts, including the debut production at the Grand Theatre in Derby, the initial London production at the Little Theatre, and a continuation in London at the Duke of York's Theatre, with the following casts:
1927 revision
![Dorothy-Peterson-1928](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Dorothy-Peterson-1928.jpg)
The 1927 revision by Balderston was first performed at the Fulton Theatre on Broadway, then opened in London at the Windsor Theatre; it was revived in 1977 at the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway, then returned to London at the Shaftesbury Theatre, with the following casts:
Dramatic analysis
Characterization of Count Dracula
Stoker's Count Dracula is old, unattractive and bestial, with pointed ears, hairy palms, and putrid breath. Deane revised the character into a suave aristocrat, who dresses formally and displays the polite manners expected in a Victorian drawing room.
Although the Count continues to be a foreign visitor in England, he no longer reflects negative stereotypes of eastern Europeans and Jews as he does in the novel. These changes allowed Deane to have Dracula converse with the other characters on stage, rather than looming in the background as a monstrous threat.
In addition to evening clothes, Deane had Dracula wear a long cape with a high collar, which served the practical purpose of hiding the actor as he slipped through a
trapdoor
A trapdoor is a sliding or hinged door in a floor or ceiling. It is traditionally small in size. It was invented to facilitate the hoisting of grain up through mills, however, its list of uses has grown over time. The trapdoor has played a pivot ...
when the vampire was supposed to magically disappear.
The revised portrayal of Dracula is used by most later adaptations, including ones promoted as being faithful to the novel.
Other changes from novel
Deane made several other changes from Stoker's novel in his adaptation. He streamlined the story by omitting all scenes set outside of England, including the opening sequence of Jonathan Harker visiting Transylvania and the final sequence of Dracula being chased through Europe. Jonathan Harker did help Dracula to buy property in London, but he did it without ever leaving England and met the Count only after he arrived in London and became the Harkers' neighbor.
At the start of the story, the Harkers are already married, Dracula is in England, and Lucy Westenra (renamed Westera in the play) is dead. The action of the play occurs primarily in the Harkers' home. To better match the actors available in Deane's company, he changed the character of Quincy Morris from a man to a woman. Other characters, such as Dracula's
vampire brides, were omitted. Deane also modernized the setting to the 1920s; Dracula arrives by airplane instead of a ship.
Changes between original version and revised version
Balderston's revisions for the Broadway production included removing characters to reduce the total cast from eleven to eight. The characters of Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris (in any form) were completely removed, while Dr. Seward was aged up from one of the suitors to father of main female character.
He switched the names of female characters, now Mina character was called Lucy Seward, who is the daughter of Dr. Seward and fiancee of Jonathan Harker (named now John Harker).
He changed the setting to Seward's sanatorium instead of the Harker residence.
Harker now has nothing to do with bringing Dracula to England, it was some other unnamed real estate agent, who helped the Count to buy property in England. Ironically it is mentioned that Harker did visit Transylvania once and even heard some stories about Dracula’s castle, but this journey was completely unrelated to Dracula himself or his relocation to England and is simply treated as one of many Harker’s trips across Europe.
Dracula is directly said to be
Vlad the Impaler
Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most im ...
- John Harker mentions, that when he was in Transylvania he heard of Castle Dracula and of a famous Voivode Dracula who lived in the castle centuries ago and fought the Turks. Van Helsing later identifies Dracula as this very Voivode. Dracula also himself says that he is 500 years old, placing his origin in the 15th century.
Renfield now is not killed by Dracula.
Reception
''
The Era'' gave a positive review to the original production in 1924, calling it "very thrilling". The paper also gave a positive review to the Little Theatre production in London, praising its "breathtaking excitements" and comparing it favorably to the
Grand Guignol
''Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol'' (: "The Theatre of the Great Puppet")—known as the Grand Guignol–was a theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris (7, cité Chaptal). From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialised in natura ...
shows in Paris.
''Theatre Magazine'' complimented Peterson's performance as Lucy in the 1927 Broadway production, calling her "the lightmotif of ''Dracula'' ...
hosefair comeliness shines through every scene like a flood of sunlight in a chamber of horrors".
Adaptations
Radio adaptation
During the original Broadway run, members of the ''Dracula'' cast presented an adaptation of the play on 30 March 1928, on the short-lived
NBC Radio
The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...
series ''Stardom of Broadway''. Lugosi, Van Sloan, Peterson, Neill, and Jukes performed on the 30-minute program.
Films
![Bela lugosi dracula](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Bela_lugosi_dracula.jpg)
The
1931 ''Dracula'' film directed by
Tod Browning
Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...
was based on the play. The film was originally intended for
Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
, who would play both the Count and the Professor--a stunt he had performed in several silent films. On his sudden death, casting the title role proved problematic. Initially, producer
Carl Laemmle Jr.
Carl Laemmle Jr. (born Julius Laemmle; April 28, 1908 – September 24, 1979) was an American film producer - studio executive and heir of Carl Laemmle, who had founded Universal Studios. He was head of production at the studio from 1928 to ...
was not interested in Lugosi, in spite of good reviews for his stage portrayal. Laemmle instead considered other actors, including
Paul Muni,
Chester Morris
John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Alibi'' ( ...
,
Ian Keith
Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor.
Early years
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...
,
John Wray,
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for h ...
,
Arthur Edmund Carewe
Arthur Edmund Carewe (December 30, 1884 – April 22, 1937), born Hovsep Hovsepian ( hy, Հովսեփ Հովսեփյան), was an Armenian-American stage and film actor of the silent and early sound film era.
Early life
Born on December 30, 18 ...
and
William Courtenay
William Courtenay ( 134231 July 1396) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1381–1396), having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.
Early life and education
Courtenay was a younger son of Hugh de Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon ( ...
. Lugosi happened to be in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
with a touring company of the play when the film was being cast.
[DVD Documentary ''The Road to Dracula'' (1999) and audio commentary by David J. Skal, ''Dracula: The Legacy Collection'' (2004), Universal Home Entertainment catalog # 24455] Lugosi lobbied hard and ultimately won the executives over, thanks in part to him accepting a paltry $500 per week salary for seven weeks of work, amounting to $3,500.
Frank Langella, star of the 1977 Broadway revival, reprised the role of Count Dracula in the
1979 film version directed by
John Badham
John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an English television and film director, best known for his films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ''Short Circuit'' (1986), and ...
.
Notes
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
Dracula on the Boardsat The Dracula Guide
at National Players
*
{{TonyAward Revival
1924 plays
1927 plays
Horror plays
Irish plays adapted into films
Plays based on Dracula
West End plays
Plays set in London