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SINCE 1949!
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Dracula
Dracula
by Deane and Balderston
Based on Bram Stoker's blood- chilling novel of the same name, Dracula tells the tale of an evil ages old and yet forever new. It is the story of peculiar power, twisted passion, and hypnotic fascination. The National Players bring to life this classic story guaranteed to get your blood flowing.
1. SYNOPSIS 4. ABOUT BALDERSTON AND DEANE'S DRACULA
Synopsis of Balderston and Deane’s Dracula
In the lonely English countryside, Dr. Seward, who specializes in mental disorders, is living with his daughter Lucy in his sanatorium, where he keeps lunatic patients. Lucy has been acting strangely lately and feeling very sickly. No one can determine the cause of Lucy’s mysterious symptoms of weakness, anemia of the blood, strange dreams, and two small red dots on her throat. Lucy’s fiancée, John Harker comes to stay at the house until she is well, and her father has called Van Helsing, a Dutch specialist in mysterious diseases.
Adding to a sense of foreboding, In the evenings, Seward’s mysterious neighbor, Count Dracula from Transylvania, visits to convey his concern for “Miss Lucy.” Also, Renfield, one of the doctor’s patients who enjoys eating flies and spiders, continues to miraculously escape from his cell and surprise the house guests with his insane rants about his “Master’s” imminent presence.
After, Van Helsing arrives, speaks with the doctor, and meets the Count, he arrives at the conclusion that Lucy’s symptoms are from the bite of a vampire, a creature who is both dead and undead together. Also, Van Helsing suspects that Count Dracula is the vampire who is victimizing Lucy. Voicing his suspicions to Dr. Seward and Harker, Van Helsing reveals that if his suspicions are true then the Count must sleep during the day in the soil of his homeland and then comes out at night to hunt for prey. Harker discovers that the Count brought six coffins from Transylvania filled with dirt.
Meanwhile, Count Dracula has made both Renfield and Lucy’s maid into his slaves through hypnosis, so that he can use them to get to Lucy. He wishes to make Lucy his undead bride.
Van Helsing, Seward, and Harker devise a plan to destroy Dracula, by the only way known for killing him, driving a stake through his heart either as he sleeps or by keeping him awake after sunrise. The men search for the coffins and discover five that are empty but cannot find the sixth. Realizing the Seward’s patient Renfield is in Dracula’s service, the men trick Renfield into revealing Dracula’s resting place, which happens to hidden through a secret passage under Seward’s own house. The men venture into the dark passageway and find Dracula’s coffin containing a sleeping Dracula. Harker drives a stake into Dracula’s heart. Lucy, her maid, and Renfield are freed from Dracula’s influence, and the evil of Count Dracula is ended forever.
The legend of Dracula, as it is known today, comes from an actual figure in history. Vlad III Dracula ruled Wallachia, a region of Romania, during the 15th century. He called himself Dracula, son of the Dragon, in honor of his father, who was a member of the secret Order of the Dragon. He was known throughout the land, however, as Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler. He had a very vicious reputation as a ruler who impaled enemies and criminals on spikes for the smallest infraction. One story says that Vlad would impale people and then drink their blood. Today, however, despite his cruel reputation, Vlad is looked upon by the people of Romania as a folk hero for driving out the Turks.
The legend of Dracula was immortalized in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel of the same name. Stoker, a native of Ireland, and author of sensational stories, first heard the story of Vlad the Impaler in 1890, and he began to study the history of the Romanian prince. However, his novel contains almost none of the actual history; rather, the story is a fictional account based on myths and legends. His novel has become famous the world over and has helped to perpetuate the popular mythic view of vampires.
Stoker’s novel has been turned into several plays and movies. It was adapted into a play by John Balderston and Hamilton Deane in 1927; however, their play adaptation is quite different from Stoker’s novel. The relationships of many of the characters were changed. Perhaps best known is the 1931 film version starring Bela Lugosi as Dracula.
"I have chartered a ship; take us - to England. We will be leaving. Tomorrow. Eve-ning." - Bela Lugosi, as Dracula
The world's original Count Dracula died just over 10 years ago; Raymond Huntley was born in 1904, and quickly grew to fill his role as an actor; his first professional appearance was with the Birmingham Reparatory Company at the age of 18. He was 20 when he came to London to read for a part in Hamilton Deane's new stage play, based on Bram Stoker's novel. Eventually, he would play the part of Dracula well over 2,000 times in his career; later he would move to the silver screen in character roles, became part of the 'Hammer' Horror stable of players, and regain fame at the age of 70 as part of the cast of the BBC's 'Upstairs, Downstairs' series. Huntley got the part of Dracula with a strange caveat; he had to provide his own evening clothes. Hamilton Deane provided the cape, since it was considered a part of costume, rather than personal wear.
Deane had licensed the rights from Flo Stoker with the intention of playing the title role himself; however, once he had worked the novel into a playable adaptation (very similar to Lugosi's 1931 film version), he dropped the role of Count to take the part of Van Helsing, a far more substantial acting role.
Dean was, as mentioned earlier, a populist producer. His interests lay with the audience, and the money they brought to the box office. In an irony lost to most at the time, he was just coming off another successful spook show production, based on a much earlier work. He played the creature in his own production of Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" for several years, until the play was essentially rung out.
Rounding out the major cast in the role of Renfield was Bernard Jukes, who by all accounts made a fine role of Dracula's mad apprentice. Taking nothing away from Dwight Frye or his successors, Jukes certainly set the benchmark high.
The play premiered in the Grand Theatre in Derby, England, and spent the next three years in almost continuous touring around Great Britain. The play was a smash success, much to the delight of Flo Stoker, who owned a majority share of the profits. At one point, Dean split the production to increase public exposure, spawning Draculas and Van Helsings across the country like Salvation Army Santas. Eventually, the production caught the attention of vacationing American entrepreneur Horace Liveright.
Liveright would eventually become an incredible force in American publishing, releasing the works of such important authors as William Faulkner, E.E. Cummings, Ernest Hemmingway and T.S. Eliot, just to name a few. In this case, however, he was playing the part of theater impresario; Liveright purchased the American rights to the Deane production, and assigned young journalist/playwright John Balderston to 'Americanize' the script. Little did Balderston know that this assignment would be the start of an incredibly important career creating many of the monsters of Golden Age Hollywood.
The New York premiere featured Edward Van Sloane in Deane's role as Van Helsing; he would eventually recreate his role in the Universal film. His nemesis was played by a Hungarian expatriate who, lacking much skill in the English language, had to learn his lines phonetically. The resulting surreal line delivery - sliding in fits and starts with hypnotic pro-nun-si-aaation - would become world famous. As would, of course, the man himself - Bela Lugosi. Bernard Jukes crossed the Atlantic to reprise his role as Renfield.
The play was a solid success, and gave Hollywood occasion to look once more at the viability of a celluloid vampire. Times were changing quickly in Tinseltown; the silents were out, and the talkies were in. Competition between studios was just gearing up and all of them were taking chances in order to edge the others out. At Universal, the guard was changing; control of the studio switched from father Carl Laemmle to son Carl Junior. And that made all the difference.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/dracula/huntley.shtml
About Deane and Balderston’s Dracula:
As mentioned in the previous article, Hamilton Deane wrote for popular consumption. It is apparent in the reading of the play version, that little regard was given to respectively recreating Bram Stoker’s novel. This version of Dracula differs from Stoker’s novel in many respects. To begin with the novel was written in 1897 and is set in that time period. The play is set past the turn of the century, in a time where airplanes were becoming viable transportation. In the play, Jonathon Harker has never been to Transylvania to transfer Count Dracula’s assets to England. The play switches the characters of Mina and Lucy. In the book Mina Murray is Harker’s fiancée, in the play Lucy is. In the book Dr. Seward is a suitor to Lucy, in the play Dr. Seward is Lucy’s father.
Although many of the details have been rearranged, the core of the story remains within the play. The vampire Dracula is still seeks a bride, Renfield still serves the evil Count, and Van Helsing is still the man called on to reveal the truth and to lead the charge against this sinister villain. What’s more important is that the thrill and the mystery remains. Purposefully crafted to lead an audience on a journey through the fearful unknown, Dracula: The Vampire Play in Three Acts, promises to horrifyingly entertain all those who dare to give themselves over this play’s terrifying reality. |
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©2006 Olney Theatre Center
(T/A National Players)
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