“Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors” at No Square

Eric Parmer, Trevor Hart, Sarah Frazin, Rebecca Leeds

A Hilarious Take on the Bloodthirsty Count!

By Bruce Goodrich

Bram Stoker could never have imagined the enduring popularity of his singular creation, Count Dracula. Since his 1897 appearance, the elegant ‘fanged one’ has been the subject of countless plays and films of all stripes, including “Dracula, the Musical.”

And now he’s back again-- this time in full hilarity mode-- at No Square Theatre, in Laguna Beach. “Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors” is just that: a 90-minute, breakneck- paced romp, with five actors dashing about, playing over a dozen characters. 

The venerable vampire hunter, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, is now Dr. Jean Van Helsing, who helps Lucy Westfeldt and Jonathan Harker hunt for the bloodthirsty count, who has Lucy’s sister, Mina, under his alluring-- but deadly-- spell.

While the play uses the narrative scaffolding of the novel, as many versions do, it differs radically in style, content, and tone, using broad comedy, bits of satire, and parody to relate the classic tale. The result is a theatre piece more in keeping with Monty Python and Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” rather than a straightforward telling, with the usual pall of foreboding and gloom, as in “Nosferatu.”

From Left: Sarah Frazin and Eric Parmer

Joe Lauderdale, the director of this production, has been associated with No Square since its inception and created the design of the physical space currently in use. He had a long tenure as Director of Theatre for Youth at the Laguna Playhouse and was also a company member and director for The Wayward Artist, among others.

Director Lauderdale had not seen, but was well aware of, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” from its successful Off-Broadway production in 2023, which was described as a “Bram-new comedy you can really sink your teeth into” and a “Gen-Z take on the classic novel,” in addition to productions at the Old Globe and in London-- not to mention its popularity on TikTok.

Once Lauderdale read the script, his initial reaction was that the play was irreverent, sexy, campy, and latently pansexual-- Dracula seduces both Lucy and Jonathan. He lobbied for a production at No Square, not only for its audience potential as a delightfully wild evening in the theatre, but also because it would be the Orange County premiere.

Lauderdale was also drawn to the gender-bending elements of the piece, as the ensemble play multiple roles of both sexes, many times changing both sex and character in an instant, in full view. With that, gender norms are also tweaked, with Lucy being a very ‘tough,’ single-minded female for the era, armed with her degree in Earth Sciences. He also noted that the piece required a lot of specialized props-- some quite strange and unique (no spoilers) including puppets, which presented a challenge more than worth meeting to support the play's structure and style.

From Left: Sawyer Reece Maier and Trevor Hart

No Square is fortunate, for this production, to have a number of period costumes designed and fabricated by No Square's resident costume designer, Brigitte Harper-- not only the ladies’ dresses but Dracula’s custom suit as well-- to make him as commanding and seductive as possible. In addition, custom fangs have been created and crafted to complete his undead countenance (pun intended).

Though not a musical, this production will include music in the form of original incidental music composed by Roxanna Ward specifically for it and played live at each performance. The inspiration for the score derives from silent film modes, designed to comment on the action, and intensify both the comic and dramatic.

Lauderdale is intent on exploiting the dynamic of the play’s ‘no pretense’ quality-- nothing is hidden, and everyone is in on the joke. That said, he also hopes that embedded themes within the comic wrapping paper-- of hope, trust, self-reliance, and self-sacrifice-- will be resonant. But most of all, he hopes that audience expectations, given the ubiquity of the material, will be happily surpassed with surprise and delight at this highly comic telling of an ‘undying’ classic.

Bruce Goodrich is a scenic and costume designer with many NYC, SoCal, and regional credits, as well as being an educator, actor, and writer. He is the screenwriter for “Mapplethorpe” (2018), starring Matt Smith, developed at Sundance, and directed by Ondi Timoner.

“Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors”

No Square Theatre

384 Legion Street, Laguna Beach, CA 

May 2 - 18, 2025

(949) 715-0333, www.nosquare.org