‘Dracula’ a mix of artistic disciplines

The strange thing about "Dracula" is that just about everybody knows at least the broad strokes of the story, but hardly anybody has read it.

Here's something else that's strange: Bram Stoker's 1897 novel is about stuff that's a lot weirder -- psychosexual subtext, anyone? -- than just a guy who happens to be a vampire.

This weekend, Southern Nevadans who aren't familiar with a granddaddy of the gothic horror canon -- or who would be intrigued by seeing the novel metamorphose into a new, possibly unfamiliar artistic form -- can pre-celebrate Halloween by watching a 15-member orchestra and more than 20 professional performers present "Dracula -- A New Musical" at the College of Southern Nevada's Nicholas J. Horn Theatre.

The musical premiered in 2002 in Cincinnati, says composer and co-lyricist/author Richard Oberacker. "They did a massive production of it, because it's pretty operatic in nature."

Here, however, Oberacker and director Carmen Yurich are taking a less-is-more tack: They're presenting the musical as a concert reading, in which actors/singers present the piece onstage, without elaborate sets or costuming, reading from scripts while backed by the live orchestra.

Yet, even there, "we're crossing the line a little bit," Oberacker adds. "People get up, and there's movement. (Yurich) has done a really spectacular job of tricking you into thinking, 'Oh, it's just a concert.' Then, the next thing you know, you're really watching a scene unfold. And there are also sneaky things being done, where portions of the show are memorized and all of a sudden those books go away and the scene is actually played out in front of you and, then, they sort of come back."

The production even includes two major choreographed sequences featuring dancers from Cirque du Soleil, Oberacker says. "So we blend the concert world with the dance world. And, all of a sudden, that dance world goes away and then it's back to a stage reading."

The bottom line, Oberacker says, is that "it's going to be a spectacular two hours where all these different artistic disciplines are going to unfold, and they're all going to trigger the imagination of the audience."

And, it turns out, that meshes perfectly with Stoker's novel, which relies on suggestion, inference and subtlety in forcing the reader to explore such themes as sexuality, feminism and peculiarly human mysteries that include why we do what we do even when we know we shouldn't.

"All the stuff we know in films -- turning into bats, climbing up walls, turning into a mist -- in the original novel it's suggested, and the supernatural element sort of takes a backseat to the emotional content of the story, which is how these people are dealing with this presence in their lives and how it affects their personal relationships," Oberacker says.

"I think Las Vegas audiences are going to flip out when they see how cool it is to allow the imagination to go to work."

Here, Yurich says, "actors have to begin with just the written word and notes on the page. And that is the essence of theater, and what we are doing is celebrating that."

The cast and crew is made up of actors, dancers and others from past and present shows along the Strip, including "Ka," "Monty Python's Spamalot," "The Producers," "Jubilee!," "The Soprano's Last Supper" and "Mamma Mia!," along with performers who've studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the College of Southern Nevada. All are donating their time and skills to this weekend's shows, which, along with a VIP reception, will benefit the CSN Performing Arts Center and Family Promise of Las Vegas, which assists homeless families.

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.