The elaborate set for “Dracula” augurs bone-chilling scenes, and Theatreworks Silicon Valley’s production, one of three different adaptations of the thriller seen locally in recent months, doesn’t disappoint.
Steven Dietz’s 1996 adaptation of the 1897 Bram Stoker novel about a vampire, his prey and (spoiler ahead) his eventual demise is, scene by scene over the course of two acts, satisfyingly chilling.
Stoker’s story, adapted by Dietz, follows the destructive path Count Dracula carves from Transylvania to England, in search of more, presumably tastier, prey. It begins when unwary British solicitor Harker (Nima Rakhshanifar) pops in to the Count’s castle in the Carpathian Mountains to help him arrange a real estate deal in England.
This first appearance of the blood-sucking Dracula, as played by the wonderful Scott Coopwood, depicts him as elderly and merrily avuncular, swathed in a red velvet gown (elegant period costumes by Meg Neville). He later appears in a somewhat different guise, younger, but always raging with blood lust.
Back home, Harker’s fiancée Mina (Maria Marquis) struggles to care for her close friend Lucy (Emily Newsome), who suddenly seems ill and has begun to sleepwalk among the nearby cliffs. Doctors are summoned: a worried Seward (played by Vincent Randazzo, who runs the local insane asylum and is pining away for Lucy) is concerned enough to summon a specialist: Van Helsing (Adrian Roberts, grim and focused, just the kind of doctor to instill fear).
“Evil grows richest in a soul most pure” he intones, observing the stricken Lucy. Van Helsing seems to have the best lines.
In a tiny, confined space above—representing Dr. Seward’s asylum—the madman Renfield (a wild-eyed, inventive Max Tachis) rants and raves and munches on insects.
This sort of melodrama can work well onstage, especially when the visual and auditory effects are on track.
And in TheatreWorks Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli’s production, every chill-inducing moment hits its mark.
Jo Winiarski’s scenic design on the expansive stage is wonderfully shadowy and foreboding, with its winding staircase, long windows and drapey curtains. It’s lit by designer Kurt Landisman just dimly enough, just shadowy enough, to induce ongoing unease.
James Ard’s effective sound design is continuous, ranging from a deafening, unearthly roar to various low-decibel, almost subconscious murmurs. Even the various illusions and props such as the ropes of garlic to try to ward off vampiric magic are unnerving.
This is a “Dracula” with a strong and varied cast, from the hapless, doomed Lucy, who will inevitably become Dracula’s beautiful victim, to the bold and determined heroine Mina to the mentally unhinged Renfield to the maid (Monique Hafen Adams).
“We must drive a stake through her heart,” pronounces Van Helsing, gazing at the frighteningly transformed Lucy. Pure, Halloween-ready fun indeed.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s “Dracula” continues through Nov. 1 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View; tickets are $54 to $104 at theatreworks.org.