Pictured: Breon Arzell

Mercury Theater Chicago will present The Hypocrites’ production of DRACULA, directed by award-winner Sean Graney, from October 7th through November 5th, 2017.  The script for this world-premiere is adapted by Graney from an original script by Timothy F. Griffin.

The cast is led by Jeff Award Winner Breon Arzell as Dracula. Janelle Villas will portray Lucy Seward, and Rob McLean is Dr. Van Helsing. Insane asylum administrator Jack Seward will be played by John Taflan, Aurora Real de Asusa plays young school mistress Mina. Erin Barlow will portray asylum inmate Renfield, and Maurice Demus is Jonathan. The scenic design is by John Musial with costume design by Samantha Jones, lighting design by Mike Durst, sound design by Joe Griffin with Jon Beal as the violence and gore designer. The production stage manager is Richard Lundy.

Director Sean Graney promises “exciting horror, at least a gallon of stage blood every night, moments of humor and a depth of character not often explored in this fantastical story.” He continued, “the characters in Dracula occupy a world on a threshold between repression and liberty. Women are beginning to live autonomous lives separate from the typical yolks of oppressive tradition. The men, though they will never admit it, fear the women and want them to return to their domestic posts. Dracula, to me, asks the question, ‘How do you deal with a society that claims to promote equality, yet everyday actions and attitudes prove that the gatekeepers are afraid of losing their advantage?’ To me, that is the world we occupy now.”

Tickets and more info at mercurytheaterchicago.com.