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Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors ran at the Des Moines Community Playhouse from October 18 to November 3, 2024. This show marks the Playhouse’s 666th production. This campy comedy transforms beloved dramatic literature into a riot, with blood and leather lace-up pants. 

“Today’s performance is not Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” David R. Kilpatrick, Playhouse Executive Director, wrote in the program.  

Count Dracula gets a flamboyant makeover in playwrights Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s reimagination of the story of Dracula. Played by Colin Smith, this Count is thirsty for men. He is debonair and dangerous, transforming what was once a story of Victorian repression into a story of liberation.  

This Dracula flounces onto the stage with a cape as big as his ego and a wit as sharp as his fangs. His introduction, accompanied by mood-setting music, consisted of a shirtless resistance band workout. The Count swoons, he struts and he charms his way through a series of hilariously over-the-top encounters, complete with dramatic fainting spells, slapstick chases and plenty of knowing winks to the audience. Smith’s performance is bold and confident.  

The Count’s forbidden desire towards coward Jonathan Harker, played by Will C, Johnson, is defined by flirtatious bloodlust. Their relationship is a game of seduction and pursuit.  

The comedic dynamic between German doctor Dr. Van Helsing, played by Zachary Dean Smith, and misogynistic father Dr. Westfield, played by Katie Hughes, was an uproar. Dr. Helsing, who also happens to be an eccentric vampire hunter, balances out Dr. Westfield’s ‘serious’ skeptical supernatural investigation. The unlikely pair is overtaken by passion, despite extenuating external circumstances. The shamelessly silly and outrageously fun cast all played multiple, wildly different roles in an immense display of talent. The overall energy of the cast  and their physical comedy was off the charts. 

Set in the Victorian Era, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors juxtaposes the strict social norms and prim etiquette with an irreverent tone. The dramatic, opulent set reminiscent of a creepy castle provides the perfect backdrop for the ridiculous antics that occur. The production was littered with pop culture and theater references, at one point nodding to Chappel Roan’s “Hot to Go” dance.  

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors at the Des Moines Community Playhouse is the perfect combination of creepy and absurd. Each cast member brought the comedy to life with boundless energy that blew away my expectations, transforming the castle set into a playground for shameless innuendos and an irresistibly charming Dracula that breaks every classic rule.