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WPCNR Stage Door. By John F. Bailey. October 11, 2004, Updated 2:30 P.M. E.D.T.: The Fort Hill Players will present the original horror melodrama for Halloween that has fascinated audiences for over one hundred years, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, written and adapted for Broadway in 1928 by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston, (that was, in turn, adopted for the Bela Lugosi movie in 1931),  debuts this Friday as the original vampire stalks the stage of The Rochambeau School, October 15, 16, 22, and 23 at 8, and Saturday, October 16 at 2. 

 

The mesmerizing Peter Green assumes the classic role of the charismatic Count Dracula, the ingénue Suzanne Davis plays the luscious Lucy Seward, and the Fort Hill Player favorite, Larry Reina The Count’s nemesis, Van Helsing. Dracula in White Plains is a rare opportunity for youth to acquaint themselves with the original story of The King of the Vampires, that debuted in the Bram Stoker novel in the 1850s, and has haunted mankind for decades. Photo by WPCNR StageCam.

 

The production, directed by Mr. Green’s wife, Carin Zakes, will be one of the most ambitious stagings, according to  White Plains’ Joan Charischak, the show producer, complete with rotating stage, fog, an eerie bat, and an atmosphere of dread as The Rochambeau School is turned into a gloomy estate in the English countryside in the nineteenth century.

 

WPCNR, wearing garlic and a cross, attended a recent rehearsal as Dracula was rising again.

 

Green assumes the role every male lead covets: the enigmatic, immortal charismatic Count Dracula, seeking to establish his legion of vampires in the English countryside. The vampire must  sleep by day on earth from his native Transylvania, and to survive must feed on the blood of the living at night. The object of his designs is Lucy, played by the alabaster fleshed Suzanne Davis, a newcomer to the Fort Hill group.

 

In case, you do not know the plot, to borrow from the Fort Hill Players trailer:

 

Lucy Seward suffers from a mysterious ailment – physically and spiritually fatigued and getting worse day by day.  At his wit’s end, her father summons Professor Van Helsing, an expert on mysterious diseases.  

Van Helsing is convinced Lucy has fallen victim to the seductive spell of charmingly evil Count Dracula. What ensues is a pursuit unlike any other: A chilling journey into supernatural, primal darkness.  A drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

 

Suzanne Davis and Peter Green in rehearsals for Dracula. Photo by WPCNR StageCam.

 

I asked Green, why he chose the role. “I do a lot of work with Carin, in part because we’re married and have been for a long time. We do a lot of theatre together. I do some theatre on my own in New Rochelle an around the county, but usually if Carin’s directing, I’ll come out and audition and support her. When she signed on to direct Dracula, I just thought it would be such fun to come out and audition.”

 

I asked if Ms. Zakes, his wife, was a difficult director. “No,” The White Plains Count said diplomatically, “She gives people tremendous room to figure it (the parts) out.”

 

The Hypnotic Count Casts a Spell on Suzanne Ochs, creating an ally. Photo by WPCNR StageCam

 

I asked Peter how he was approaching the most famous stage part from the age of melodrama, next to Sherlock Holmes. “I guess I’m kind of exploring. I think I’m just being given room to figure it (Dracula) out at this moment. But to me, the internal aspect of this character is about hunger, need, desire, control and power. The externals are about style and spookiness, about being creepy. So, there’s certainly especially out of the Victorian era where all, this work comes from, there’s a very very sexual undercurrent. There’s the idea of loss of control, loss of innocence. But it’s so much fun to explore this character to move around in his skin. So much fun.”

 

THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE. Mesmerized, seized by lust, Suzanne Davis as Lucy invites the Count’s advance. Photo by WPCNR StageCam

 

               Mr. Green’s beautiful foil, Suzanne Davis who plays the object of seduction, Lucy, agreed: “The chance for me to change from innocent, sweet girl to vamp. That’s very fun, changing. It’s not very often you get to completely change a character in one play.”

 

 Vampire’s Delight: Suzanne Davis plays Lucy.  Photo by WPCNR StageCam

 

Ms. Davis is a fan of the genre, and that’s why she tried for the part: “I studied Dracula intensively in college and I’ve loved the story ever since I was very young. My neighbor saw a casting notice for the play, and she drove it right over to my house and gave it to me, saying you have to try out for this you’d be so good. So I came and auditioned. It was a very fun audition.”

 

Ms. Davis described how she is approaching the role of the threatened ingenue: “I’m trying to bring a reality to the play in a sense that the vampire does not exist in reality. The way I think about it is that it is almost like a regular man who is coming into her own bedroom every night and raping her. I act the kind of sentiments that a woman would have, not comfortable sleeping in her own bed at night because she’s being attacked by a vampire.”

 

Two Relationships at play.

 

 

                Green said there are two major themes. “There are two really interesting relationships in the play for Dracula. One is certainly the seduction of Lucy, which happens against her will. I think most of us if we’re approaching a person for a relationship, we don’t know how it’s going to work out. But Dracula holds all the cards. Still, it’s interesting and very exciting. The other relationship is Van Helsing, who is an adversary. And Dracula who is very old, has not had a worthy adversary in a long time.”

MASTER!  Douglas Zimmer as the lunatic, Renfield, pointing to the apparition of Dracula. Stanley Wexler as Seward looks on in awe. Timothy Young as Jonathan Harker, Lucy’s finance comforts Davis as Lucy. Photo by WPCNR StageCam.

 

 

                  Davis, in keeping with her character, is very new to acting. A recent college graduate, and an Ardsley resident, she acted in high school and college and is thinking about pursuing an acting career and graduate school. 

 

                    Green is a graduate of SUNY Purchase, from the Conservatory and spent years in New York as an actor, auditioning and “trying to make a living that way.” He says he has been an amateur actor for about fifteen years, he  acts and he teaches, coaches and directs, “sort of worked at will without the pressure of making a living at it.” He currently is pursuing a Masters in social work at Fordham, “headed for another career change.”

 

  I asked Green if he always wanted to be Dracula. “I don’t know, I don’t think I want to be Dracula. I think every person has a fantasy of control. Everybody wishes you can bend people to their will. You know, in some part of themselves.”

 

Renfield feels his master’s presence as an incredulous Van Helsing played by Larry Reina is horrified. Photo by WPCNR StageCam.

 

                  Doug Zimmer who plays the insane foil to Dracula, Renfield with an edge that makes your flesh crawl, said he could not resist the chance to audition: “I always liked the horror genre. Especially the old classics. I haven’t done it in years. I couldn’t resist the urge to come out and do a real chiller. I had to try and get into it.” Zimmer will also be doing Dracula’s werewolves offstage.

                  Larry Reina, previous star of Art for Fort Hill Players, who plays Van Helsing was seduced by the vampire’s  spell, too. “Just loved the idea of doing a crazy, wonderful, melodramatic seminal play that is such a part of the culture. 1928-29 was when he wrote it, and the whole Dracula industry was spawned from this.  The group is great, to be working with my friend Peter, and Carin.”

 

“MERE PLAYTHINGS OF MAN’S VANITY:” (They don’t write scripts like that anymore), Dracula dodges his non-reflection in a mirror, as Reina (Van Helsing) confronts the Prince of Darkness for the first time, arousing his suspicion. Photo by WPCNR StageCam.

 

                  Reina likes Green as The Count: “He’s wonderful. We’re out there clinching, mano a mano, and I don’t see Peter. I see the King of the Vampires.”

                  Reina agreed with WPCNR that the Van Helsing character in the movie was played too old. He plays a younger, more dashing Van Helsing. “I’m not going to be that old. I’m an early 50ish character, a little bit more youthful vitality. A little bit of humor, varied but serious, a man of action. I’m here I’m ready to do battle. He takes the people. I’m making the plan. He makes mistakes. He learns from them he continues on. He’s so different from other characters I’ve played. I think this will be really fun, spooky, scary. I hope a lot of people come and see it.”

“YOUR WILL IS STRONG.” Van Helsing holds the evil Dracula at bay with a sprig of garlic. Photo by WPNCR StageCam.

 

                 Zakes, The Directoress said the last week in September that the production was on track:  “It’s coming along very well. It’s nice to work with such a small intimate cast. We’re able to run the entire show at every rehearsal now, because we’ve got it locked in on its feet already. So now we can start working on character and the nuances.”

 

This is Ms. Zakes’ first mystery-horror show. “I love the timing of the play,  the fact that we’re doing it in October because it seems a perfect mood for Dracula. It’s not going to be like thrills and chills. In the Halloween sense, it’s going to have a lot of suspense and creepiness, and I hope to infuse it with some surprises. We will see a coffin.”

 

RUNNING THROUGH: Director of Dracula, Carin Zakes, left, and Executive Producer Joan Charischak, following the ancient script at a runthrough in late September. Photo by WPCNR StageCam.

 

Joan Charischak, the producer,  promises to transform “The Roch” at Rochambeau School into appropriate vampire atmosphere.

 

“We have our tried and true lighting designer,David Allman. He does fabulous things. We’re working with a black curtain, so he’s going to have a nice canvas to play off of. As you know the lighting he did for Art was spectacular. And this is the same designer who’s coming back to us again. There’s almost mist, and blackouts, and special lighting.”

 

Regarding the set, she says, “We got our inspiration from the Broadway musical, Dracula,  in that they did not have a fully constructed set. They did wagons, everything moving on and off stage, we thought this was a fun thing to do. So our set designer, Anthony Fabrizio who is a draftsmen and does  wonderful work, has designed these revolving triangles, so when they are configured in three different positions, they create the boudoir of Lucy. In another configuration, they create the crypt at the end, and in the third position, they are the study of Dr. Seward.  The insides of the triangles form the boudoir and the study. The outsides of the triangles form the crypt. We also have a trap door, the moving bookcase where Renfield goes in and out which is a lot of fun.”

 

Asked if this was the most elaborate set Fort Hill has ever done, Joan said, “It’s pretty complicated.

 I must give full credit to a gentleman named Scott Faubel, who was in Art and The Odd Couple. Scott is the Master Carpenter here.”

 

Dracula rises from the grave Friday at 8 at “The Roch,”  Rochambeau School, 228 Fisher Avenue, White Plains, and returns to stalk the night on Saturday, October 16 at 8, Friday, October 22 and Saturday, October 23 at night. Saturday afternoon there will be a rare vampire matinee performance at 2 P.M. To reserve tickets call 914-309-7278 or go to the Fort Hill Players website at www.forthillplayers.com, to order online. Tickets are $15, $12 for students and senior citizens, $6 for children.

 

The writing is dramatic. The spell it casts is haunting. The suspension of belief, that remains to be seen. Ahhh, “Creatures of the Night! What Music They Make!”

 

 

                

 

WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER. October 10, 2004: Today’s photograph captures the demolition of the 221 Main Street properties that was executed most of Saturday by a Cappelli Enterprises construction crew. A steam shovel, methodically tore at the vacated properties with its huge metal claw to  knock down a good portion of the deserted stores between the Bar Building and the former RKO Keiths theatre to the left. The White Plains Arts Council Building can be seen in the distance. The demolition paves the way for the construction of the Renaissance Square Hotel and Condominiums by the Super Developer, Louis Cappelli.

WPCNR PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY: Renaissance Continues. By the White Plains Roving Photographer.