Pitt Repertory sucks in the best way possible with ‘Count Dracula’

“Count Dracula”

Oct. 22 through Nov. 1

Charity Randall Theatre, Stephen Foster… “Count Dracula”

Oct. 22 through Nov. 1

Charity Randall Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial

$12 Students, $22 General Admission

www.play.pitt.edu or 412-624-7529

Ted Tiller’s “Count Dracula” feeds on an audience’s laughter more than its screams — not that its comedic slant stops fragile characters Mina and Sybil from filling the theater with more than a few of the latter.

For Director W. Stephen Coleman, the task was to “capture the eccentric characters and gothic horror as a backdrop to humor.”

Interesting sets and props make the gothic style clear to the audience, including a revolving bookcase, suspended bats, a painting with a lighting effect, a fog machine, strobe lights and fake gun shots. The castle set complements the Count in all his Romantic glory.

The play has eccentric characters in spades: Sybil Seward (Holly Thuma), for example, a lady with a penchant for sherry, feathers and men who inspire shivers — including Count Voivode Dracula (Sam Turich), himself.

Count Dracula’s arrival is memorable, to say the least. His costume alone induces giggles, but the accent and the dramatic flair nearly turn the character into an over-the-top caricature. For the actor, though, it’s all about the research.

“Meredith Conti, the show’s dramaturgical coach, is very thorough and interested. She made us packets with information and resources,” Turich said. “I watched the old Dracula movies and read the book.”

Cameron Crowe, who plays Renfield, took on the character, jumping over a couch onstage and hopping around like Gollum from “Lord of the Rings.”

“I watched videos of schizophrenics on YouTube,” he said. “The dialect’s been tough. Holly taught the cast.”

Thuma, along with co-stars Turich and Elena Alexandratos — playing Helga Von Helsing — are teaching artists with Pitt’s department of theatre arts.

“Teaching artists are professional actors who have had professional careers, but they want a more secure position,” Coleman said. “They are hired to teach as well as to perform. We put them in older, quirky roles that are harder to fill with younger actors.”

Bruce McConachie chairs the department of theater arts and plays opposite Thuma in the play. Although they portray brother and sister, he plays the role more straightforwardly and dryly witty than Thuma, who applies an outlandish and flamboyant comedic style.

Ana Carolina Noriega plays Wilhelmina Murray, the resident damsel. When Mina becomes hypnotized and slowly takes on vampiric characteristics, she attempts to seduce her lover. To which Jonathan Harker (Eric Prendergast) replies, “Fiancé is the proper term.” At her most critical moments of change she uses dancer-like leaps and rumbling growls, which result in instant laughs.

Prendergast seemed to be in the spirit of things, playing with sound bites after the performance. “There are lots of puns about vampires,” he said. “It didn’t suck too badly.”

In any theater production, actors have to cope with unpredictable events. Crowe injured his toe in a preview performance, and a few student-induced interruptions shook Stephen Foster Memorial with ill-timed celebration.

“Remind me not to schedule a production during Homecoming,” Coleman said. “It must have been frightful for [the actors’] concentration.”

On opening night, the festivities interfered with the creepy, quiet ambience of the play, but it enhanced the comedic elements. The actors handled the inconvenience well, going for laughs rather than letting the noise distract them.

Mina looked around comically when the noise disrupted a quiet moment, while her co-stars opted for well-timed ad-libs.

“What frightened you, Mina? Was it the fireworks?” came from a concerned Dr. Seward and a scream of, “The Master promised me I could see the fireworks!” from a distressed Renfield.

Like an actor’s ad-lib, Count Dracula’s timing works out right with current trends in pop culture and with Halloween just around the corner.

There will be a special matinee on Halloween, for a little “scary fun,” as Crowe called it.

“How popular are vampires right now? It’s an extremely popular phenomenon,” Coleman said.

The director’s choice of the quintessential vampire story was no coincidence. Coleman said he wanted to do one last play before he retired — something fun — and “Count Dracula” brings his directing career full circle.

The first play he directed was a “silly little one-act play with a vampiric element,” Coleman said. “My teacher forbade me to do it. Now I have more freedom.”

Tiller’s “Count Dracula” bends the traditional story a bit, but only for laughs. Coleman takes Tiller’s comedy and puts his own perspective on it.

“You can only try to capture the proper style, not realism, but play it truthfully,” Coleman said. “We push beyond what Tiller did. You never want to offend or challenge the playwright, but to recapture that spirit.”