Adapting Dracula (Part Eight)

This is a series of posts sharing my ideas/considerations while getting ready to adapt Bram Stoker's novel Dracula for the live stage.

Eight: The Right Honorable Arthur

A frustrating thing for anyone seeking to adapt this novel is how so few characters seem to have a job--or if they have one, they spend hardly any time doing it.  Case in point--Arthur Holmwood, son and heir the Viscount Godalming.

Since I am positing a different timeline, one in which a kind of small scale First World War fought for three years roughly in the place of Franco-Prussian War, with Arthur, Quincey and Seward as veterans of that conflict, another notion popped up.  What if Arthur Holmwood worked for British Intelligence?  Does not this offer some wonderful possibilities of intrigue and paranoia, as well as giving the character a sharp focus he frankly needs?

Now in our history, much of international brinkmanship as well as espionage focused on what they then called The Great Game, i.e. the long term rivalry between the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire.  Ironically enough, when war did break out in 1916 Russia and England were allies against Germany.

Presumably, much like in our history, the Ministry of War created a formal organization to coordinate and plan matters of intelligence, security and covert operations.  Whatever form this takes, if one presumes Arthur Holmwood an operative of same, then he has every reason in the world to investigate evidence of a mysterious Austrian nobleman (Transylvania was part of the Austrian Empire at this point) sneaking into England.  Extrapolate from there and this helps explain his insistence on keeping Quincey the gunslinger by his side (and since in this timeline, the UK probably helped the South win the Civil War, Quincey might be his opposite number in the Confederacy).  More, it might create a natural rift between them and Seward, who now spends his time trying to heal the sick, most of all those suffering from what we call PTSD.  He is a more frightening figure, a more worthy adversary for our Dracula--at the same time, I wonder if he would ever consider for one moment the theory their enemy had nothing whatsoever to do with politics?

To be continued

Adapting Dracula (Part Seven)

This is a series of posts sharing my ideas/considerations while getting ready to adapt Bram Stoker's novel Dracula for the live stage.

Seven: The Madhouse

One of my many areas of research for Dracula was the actual conditions in Victorian mental asylums.  In the novel, the treatment of Renfield bordered on abuse, not least surgically opening a hole in his skull!

But then Van Helsing gave Lucy a blood transfusion, even though doctors had known there was always a good chance the patient would die from such for decades.

Anyway, I learned these places could be far worse and far better than I feared. Virtually everything depended on the class or wealth of the patient, coupled with the specific ethics of individual staff members.  Especially the former!

Victorian female mental patient

Women in the 1880s and 1890s committed to a sanitorium might find it rather pleasant, with peaceful exercises and simple activities intended to calm the nerves. If in fact (as was often the case) the women were simply recovering from trauma or exhaustion or the like, this could do them good. Those who disturbed the peace might find themselves isolated from the others, but again this did not necessarily involve any kind of abuse.  It was no guarantee against any, either.

Far too many women patients were locked up for "hysteria" a kind of catch-all phrase for everything from post-partum psychosis to not obeying one's husband or father.  Any physical resistance often resulted in brutal restraints, while if the asylum in question was not rather posh, the living conditions resembled a medieval dungeon.

In a Steampunk world, I would expect this both worse and better.  In the wake of the massive Franco-German War, with its horrific casualities, women would have earned a larger place in the workforce.  Quite possibly women's suffrage might be in sight.

At the same time, it is difficult to believe alienists would not have been all the more willing to conduct experiments on their charges--up to and including electric shock, for example. Keep in mind such treatment--electro-convulsive therapy--has its supporters to this day, including some patients who reported truly radical improvements in mood and energy.   However, modern doctors make sure patients are sedated and give very minor shocks, i.e. low voltage.

For the record, I see Miss Renfield as a young woman cursed (as she and society sees it) with hallucinations--which are in fact psychic visions.

To be continued

Solo Must Die! (review)

Spoilers ahoy!

The idea sounds cool enough.  A parody based on Star Wars and especially the character who is the focus of the upcoming movie.  Of course part of me thought "But how can they make a parody of a movie that isn't out yet?"

Which shows a total lack of imagination on my part!

Solo Must Die: A Musical Parody literally has the framework of a fan (John Ryan) insisting his friend (Jordan R. Coleman) read his fanfiction about Han Solo.  Very reluctantly, the friend agrees and soon we find ourselves in Cloud City in between events of Episode IV A New Hope and Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.  Han Solo (Jordan Stidham) himself is on the run and crash lands, just in time to hopefully do a favor for his old pal Lando Calrissian (Keenan Montgomery).  However, Grand Moff Levine (Ari Stidham), the local law enforcement official--or something, we're not that clear--wants nothing more than to kill Han Solo so as to impress Darth Vader.  Turns out his beautiful young wife Galaxia (Selorm Kploanyi) doesn't mind helping since Han jilted her years back.  Meanwhile, Lando wants Han's help in wooing Annie (Kaitlyn Tanimoto), Grand Moff Levine's young

Credit:  Aaron Tocchi

daughter/clone or something.

Yes, it is deliriously and delightfully complicated--one of the hallmarks of good farce.  Make no mistake, this qualifies.  Yeah, it has a few weak spots but overall the cast does a splendid job of mastering that not-quite (or at all) real attitude for a farce, coupled with excellent timing and a firm feeling for the audience.

As things proceed, events get more complex and weird, but it turns out to be more than a string of gags.  Good parodies, from Young Frankenstein to What We Do In Shadows or Harry Potter The Musical, come from a love of the material.  And good comedy requires a plot that has some kind of emotional resonance.  Turns out this one is all about Han realizing, despite his many objections to himself more than anyone else, he loves Leia and also enjoys the respect he earns

Credit: Aaron Tocchi

being a good guy.

For the record, the whole cast seemed to having a ball, often just enjoying the unbelievably silliness at every turn.  At one point Kylo Ren (Alex Lewis) and BB8 (Michelle Wicklas) show up from the future, the former determined to kill his father before he himself was ever born, because that is just "so hard core."  Chewbacca (Cooper Karn) shows up as does Luke (Sean Draper) and a young Obiwan (Hughie Stone Fish).  This represents the tip of the iceberg, amidst plenty of catchy songs and some quite nice musical numbers.  Quick note--everybody else dancing could take a few lessons from the Big Guy (i.e. Ari Stidham aka Grand Moff Levine) because he sells every single move and glance.

Solo Must Die: A Musical Parody plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm until May 27, 2018 at the Hudson Backstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood CA 90038.

Death Before Cocktails (review)

Spoilers ahoy!

The title of Laureen Vonnegut's new play, now at Theatre68, feels rather tantalizing:  Death Before Cocktails.  One might expect a murder mystery, possibly in the style of the 1930s, or a comedic struggle for some alcoholic.  In fact these turned out meager and unworthy guesses.

Sophie, a famous actress, has committed suicide and left instructions for her twin sister Lana (Ariel Hart) to take the ashes to a bar owned by Lana's old ex Will (Tom Kearney).  Also invited is Clive (Paul Keaney), Lana's former fiancee whose engagement ended when one drunken night he slept with Sophie.  What follows is a truly fascinating and entertaining conversation between folks who are trying desperately to keep it together while navigating their complex feelings for one another, and the dearly departed.

Oh, and adding to the brew is Ruth (Rose Hunter), a very young waitress who turns out to be Will's long lost daughter from a one night stand.  Trying to do right by her, Will gave her a job.  Also crashing the party is Mario (Damien Diaz), a flamboyant dentist who is now dating the bisexual Clive--who in turn has decided he might as well just go all the way and identify as gay (because, well, gay men in Los Angeles won't date a man who identifies as bi).  Mario thinks this is LOVE, which makes Clive deeply uncomfortable.

The cocktail that this play turns out to be tastes by turns hilarious, disturbing, moving, sad, happy, frustrating--but always human, always essentially kind, always honest.  And funny.  Don't forget that one.  Funny!

I really need to applaud the cast and co-directors Vonnegut and Alex Rotaru for accomplishing the essence of a fine performance.  Not only did every single performer commit to their choices 110%, no matter how bizarre (Mario at one point is definitely tripping on cocaine), but they spoke these lines with truth.  These are not the easiest lines to do that with, simply because the characters tend to be very clever and pretty insightful at the same time as demonstrating they are also what all of our species remain forever--fools.

Just like you and me.  For the record, especially me.

So we get treated to an emotional roller coaster, with falls into hopelessness and sometimes rage.  Then we find ourselves jolted by more than a few sharp plot turns (let us say Sophie's full instructions for the get together prove a tad exotic) and shaken to various degrees by various sorts of revelations.

As cocktails go, this one has layers of flavor galore.  If has the bitter along with the sweet, the sharp as well as the smooth, it also tastes filling and leaves a pleasing but not saccharine aftertaste.

Death Before Cocktails plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm until May 13, 2018 at Theatre68 (south of Magnolia) 5112 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood CA 91601.