Last Chance: Don't miss out on Bossier Parish Community College's production of 'Dracula'
Since 1990 the Bossier Parish Community College has periodically put on a production of the play "Dracula" adapted for the stage from the 1897 novel by Bram Stroker.
It's been 10 years since the last time the Cavalier Players put their spin on this classic and you won't want to miss out on the final performances taking place October 20 - 23.
The story begins with Dr. Seward's discovery that his daughter, Lucy, has been attacked by a mysterious illness. Dr. Seward calls upon Dr. Abraham Van Helsing to determine what is wrong with her and he believes that she is the victim of a vampire attack. With this discovery, Van Helsing vows to end Count Dracula's immortal existence on Earth.
"It's very stylized and it gives our students an opportunity to do the melodrama style," explained Theatre Program Director Dr. Ray Scott Crawford. "He [Dracula] was a classic villain, we've got the classic lovers, we've got the classic brainy guy and then the femme fatale. All those things that were in melodrama is in the story. It marriages the comedy of manners, which is high language, with the farcical elements of melodrama, so it's perfect."
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Crawford has been teaching the "Elements of Theater" class for 25 years and "Dracula" serves as a perfect example of the different topics discussed like style, essence and genre, just to name a few.
The play was adapted in 1924 by Hamilton Deane and revised by John L. Balderson in 1927 and was the first authorized adaptation of Stoker's novel. It went on to be revived for Broadway in 1977 in a more highly stylized version that ended up winning a Tony Award for Best Costume Design the following year.
According to Crawford, the dialogue is in its original 1927 form, and he has chosen to embrace the original comic melodrama of the piece.
"We'll see and hear the vampire's story, but we'll also have a chance to laugh at the antics of those chasing him," explained Crawford. "Even the count has a chance, now and then, to crack wise. This particular script was never intended to be taken as seriously as some of the modern-day retellings of the tale."
As a tribute to the black-and-white films of the era, almost all of the sets, props and costumes are in grayscale which also allows for the occasional symbolic use of color.
This show is a true labor of love with a cast of 26 and all of the technical crew having full-time jobs and still putting in 40 or more hours a week at the theater. As for what to expect, audience members can count on being a little scared, a little titillated and in for a fun show.
"I think they [community] needs to just leave all of their preconceptions about what 'Dracula' is behind," said Crawford. "They just need to come with an open mind and experience it for what it is, because they're gonna see people they wouldn't expect to be cast in particular areas, because it's not like the movies."
"Dracula" will be running Thursday, October 20 - Sunday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at the Ticket Source website and the show will take place at the Stephen W. Slaughter Theatre (Building C) at the Bossier Parish Community College located at 6220 E. Texas St.
Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Don't miss out on Bossier Parish Community College's 'Dracula'
