by Lorie Lewis Ham
I can’t imagine a play better suited for Halloween month than Dracula, and the College of the Sequoias in Visalia has their own version of the play on stage right now! Professor of Cinema & Theatre Arts, and director of the show, Chris Mangels, adapted this play from the book. The remaining performances are October 16-18.
If you love vampires like I do, but have never experienced the original story of Dracula, don’t miss your chance to see the story come to life on stage. If you are already a fan of the book, you too should head out to COS to see the show. I am ashamed to say I have never read the book, but this play definitely has the classic horror vibe I would imagine one would get from the book as well. The castle set was amazing, and the monster form of Dracula (this was a puppet) was really creepy, especially when sneaking about in the dark. They did some interesting things in the show that I had never seen before, like having diary entries played like a voiceover in a movie and written up on a circular screen above the castle. 
The actors did a good job of bringing this classic scary story to life. I was especially impressed with the young women playing Mina (Sarah Johnson) and Lucy (Quinn Soriano). My favorite though was the portrayal of Professor Van Helsing as a woman. They used this twist to throw in a touch of humor, which was a nice relief from the tension. Willow Rogers did an amazing job in this role! This is my second time seeing her on stage (first was as Maureen in Selma Arts Center’s recent production of Rent), and I look forward to seeing her on stage again in the future! Dracula’s brides were also super creepy, and were played by Alexis Shelton, Katherine Gonzales, and Kaitlyn Bailey.
So if you are looking for some scary Halloween theatre fun, be sure to head out to COS this coming weekend and see Dracula! The seating for this play is on stage so you really feel like you are right there in the middle of the action. But that also means limited seating. Watch out for the jump scares! There is also a lot of smoke, which adds to the spooky atmosphere. Tickets can be purchased here and are relatively inexpensive for today’s prices.
If you would like to do a Dracula double-header, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is on stage at 2nd Space Theatre in Fresno, and their closing performance is on October 19.
If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean.
Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.
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