The Press of Manorville & the Moriches Online Edition

Theatre Three producers are singing the praises of modern culture’s thirst for en vogue vampires as they present the king of all bloodsuckers this fall in “Dracula: The Musical.”

Based on the original Victorian novel by Bram Stoker, the show features the music of American composer Frank Wildhorn, who is best known for his Broadway musical adaptations of classic novels such as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “The Scarlet Pimpernel.”

The production opens at the Port Jefferson theater on September 11 and runs through October 30.

Theatre Three Executive Artistic Director Jeffrey Sanzel, who is directing the show, said that “Dracula: The Musical” was a short-lived Broadway production about five years ago.

He acknowledged that it was panned by New York critics at the time. However, Mr. Sanzel noted that Theatre Three was offering a reworked version of the musical, which was well-received in Europe after the show closed on the Great White Way in early 2005.

The reworked musical made its international debut at Theater St. Gallen, Switzerland, with revisions that Mr. Wildhorn had reportedly wanted for Broadway. It underwent several more revisions and played an engagement at the Graz, Austria, Summer Festival in August, 2007, where it received rave reviews by European critics.

“It didn’t do well in New York,” Mr. Sanzel admitted. “It ran 154 performances, which is not much of a run. But then they took it to Europe, and it was a huge, huge hit. They dropped six songs, they rewrote six songs, they cut the dialogue. They made it a much slimmer, more exciting, more visceral production.”

The Theatre Three production features the dark, exotic features and smoky baritone-tenor voice of Theatre Three veteran Jon Rivera as the captivating count. The 33-year-old Shirley resident said the part intrigued him because the inner torment of no longer being human mixed with the longing desire for love that his character displays, were elements he could sink his teeth into.

Mr. Rivera noted that the show had its grisly moments, but pointed out that it was the underlying love story that attracted him most to the part. Unlike many versions of “Dracula,” which have the creepy count already in the home of his victim, “Dracula: The Musical” sticks to Stoker’s original story line, where Dracula is an outsider, who has contact only with his hapless victims before finally confronting his pursuers at the end.

“For me, the difficulty is getting away from 60, 70, 80 years of preconceived notions about Dracula,” Mr. Rivera said. “With the popularity of vampire stories now, and Dracula being the oldest—not the oldest, but one of them—the part has almost lent itself to parody, because there are hipper or more current versions.

“But the fact is that this is a period piece, in addition to being a supernatural piece,” he added. “It’s a matter of giving it the respect that the story deserves and not being a caricature, but rather a character, on stage.”

Mr. Rivera said the original novel was essential to his research into the role of Dracula. No other adaptation of the vampire tale, Mr. Rivera noted, sticks to the original story as much as “Dracula: The Musical” does.

“The novel is written in journals and letters, so it’s written from many different perspectives,” Mr. Rivera said. “This show just does a really good job of telling the story, especially with as much music as there is—and that’s one of the lures, that Wildhorn’s music is so sweeping.”

A New York City native, Mr. Wildhorn is a self-taught musician. During high school, he played in and wrote music for various rock, blues and jazz bands.

While attending college in Southern California, he wrote the music for “Jekyll & Hyde” with a classmate. The freshman effort went on to be a Broadway hit.

Jennifer Collester-Tully, who plays Lucy in the Theatre Three production, said that Mr. Wildhorn’s music was both highly compelling and extremely complex. She admitted that while the music was enjoyable to listen to, it was another matter when it came to learning and singing the intricate songs.

“The lyrics are tricky and the music is very difficult,” said the East Northport resident. “Some of my songs are very dissonant and there’s very little accompaniment, so it’s challenging. But it’s a lot of fun—mainly because I get to put my fangs on.”

Professional New York City dancer, actor and costume designer Edward Carignan, who co-directed, choreographed and designed costumes for Theatre Three’s recent production of “Rent,” has returned to choreograph and fit costumes for “Dracula.”

Mr. Carignan, 25, who commutes from New York City nearly every day, said costuming the show is tricky because the play is set during a transitional time period, taking place at the end of the 19th century. He said fashion at the end of the Victorian Era, which was known for frilly and flamboyant clothing styles, was changing quickly into Edwardian modes, which were toned down and more practical fashion motifs.

“It’s that Victorian—Edwardian cusp, and you could go either way with it,” Mr. Carignan said. “It’s hard finding clothes for that period, because it is such a transitional time for fashion. Things really exploded in 1900, and this is 1897, so we’re just three years away from a major switch in fashion.”

Ultimately, the show features largely Victorian styles, which Theatre Three rented from the Westchester Broadway Theatre Company. Famed professional theater fashion designers, the Eaves-Brookes Costume Company, originally created many of the costumes being used in the Theatre Three production, according to Mr. Carignan.

“Eaves-Brookes went under during the 1990s and sold all its stuff to different companies, and they got a lot of the stuff at Westchester,” Mr. Carignan said. “So we’re lucky enough to have actual costumes that were in Broadway shows.”

A stickler for recreating the intended time period of “Dracula,” Mr. Carignan also hunted down actual dance steps popular during the late Victorian period. The show features a waltz during an elaborate wedding scene in which the two female characters, Mina, played by Tamaralynn Dorsa, and Lucy simultaneously get married.

Supporting cast members dance between the two weddings.

“We went and studied all the Victorian waltzing, so all the dancing in that waltz number is all authentic,” Mr. Carignan said. “They used to dance in fours, and it’s nice that we have enough performers to do the dance properly.”

Mr. Sanzel added that the sets of Theatre Three set designer Randy Parsons are some of the most innovative the local theater has produced to date. Unlike the static, drawing room sets most associated with “Dracula,” Mr. Parson’s stage designs are constantly on the move, according to Mr. Sanzel.

“The set feels the movement of the piece and feels the eroticism,” Mr. Sanzel said. “Randy’s got all these portals and panels that are constantly in motion. There’s a strong sensuality to it all, so we’re dealing with a very sexy Dracula.”

Tickets for “Dracula: The Musical” range from $21 to $28 for adults and $14 for children, and are available at the theater, which is located at 412 Main Street in Port Jefferson, at theatrethree.com or by calling 928-9100.

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