Hartford Stage hosts U.S. debut of new Dracula adaptation

Hartford Stage is hosting the U.S. debut of a new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” a production that shifts the focus from the titular vampire to the psychological mechanics of fear. Running through November 1, the play explores how fear is used to control human existence.

A Focus on Psychological Fear

Playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm stated that centering the production on fear allowed her to remain faithful to the 1897 novel. Malcolm noted that the original text dealt with themes similar to contemporary anxieties, including “fear of illness and infection,” “gender fear and sexuality fear,” and the “fear of foreign entities coming over here and doing terrible things to our women.”

The production opens with a meditation on fear as an emotional response to threat, describing it as both innate and learned. The opening lines characterize fear as the “creeping dread” heard at night, the force that keeps people on the light side of the street, and the mechanism that keeps people “in your place.” Sara Gutierrez, the actor playing Mina, delivers these opening lines, noting that while fear is technically one emotion, it carries significant “vulnerability attached to it.” Gutierrez added that fear “looks different on everybody.”

DRACULA at Hartford Stage

Reimagining Character Roles

Departing from traditional adaptations that center on Dracula or Van Helsing, this version features a six-person cast consisting almost entirely of women. Previous versions often featured male leads, such as Gary Oldman in the 1990s, Bela Lugosi in the 1930s, or Adam Sandler in “Hotel Transylvania 2.” Mina serves as the narrator and the story’s main point-of-view character. Gutierrez described the role as “refreshing and empowering,” stating that unlike versions where Mina is merely a victim, in this production, “she doesn’t want to be a victim anymore.”

The production also removes the traditional lead role of the vampire. According to the script, Dracula is not played by any specific cast member; instead, “He is a shadow, a presence, he may even be a figment.” This approach aligns with observations from Bram Stoker scholar Jordan Kistler, who noted that Dracula only speaks on 33 pages of the original novel. Kistler described the character as “elusive” and “quiet.”

Hartford Stage hosts U.S. debut of new Dracula adaptation

Production Elements

The adaptation utilizes blood and gore to enhance its atmosphere, with scenes that become “pretty gruesome” and “pretty bloody” at times. One scene features Scout Backus as a bloodied Lucy being bitten. Malcolm explained that her approach to writing the cast was driven by a desire to “write things that give jobs to women and examine the stories that women haven’t necessarily had the chance to tell.” Gutierrez noted that she loves “being covered” in the production’s gore.