"Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors" - by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen - Worcester Count Light Opera Company (Worcester, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: The CAST of the comedy "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, presented by Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 26, 2025. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“Mirrors really aren't my thing.”
- ("Dracula") / Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen
Worcester Count Light Opera Company
Presents Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen's
"DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS"
Written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen
Directed by Lisa Tierney
Cast Includes: George Smith as "Actor One: Jonathan Harker/Cavendish/Worthington/Havemercy/Bosun/Gravedigger," Liz Couture as "Actor Two: Dr. Westfeldt/Renfield/Sea Captain/Man-Eating Wolf," Sophia Vessecchia as "Actor Three: Lucy Westfeldt/Kitty Rutherford/Driver/Man-Eating Wolf," Sky Arsenault as "Actor Four: Mina/Dr. Van Helsing/Man-Eating Wolf," A. Foley as "Actor Five: Dracula."
Additional Creative Team:
Stage Manager - Alexis Prosser; Set Design/Scenic Artist - Mike Nosel; Set Construction - Mike Nosel, Peter Russo, John Stoffel; Assistant Set Painters - Jo Ann Savage, Sally Bowditch; Lighting Design - John Stoffel; Lighting Assistant - Peter Russo; Sound Design - Peter Russo; Costume Design Aiden Bourdeau; Hari and Make-up - Aiden Bourdeau; Props - Allyson Kinch; Intimacy Coordinator - Katie Swimm; Fight Coordinator - Paul Spanagel; Producers - Kaity Ekstrom-Doig, Eric Butler, Robin Shropshire.
Performances:
October 17, 2025 through October 26, 2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY (WCLOC), Grandview Ave. Playhouse, 21 Grandview Avenue, Worcester, MA.
TICKETS:
For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Worcester County Light Opera Company (WCLOC) flies into spooky season like a bat (no, not like one thrown occasionally at Fenway) with "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" a romp done at "biteneck" speed and which is bloody funny.
The 90-minute farce, written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen and craftily directed for WCLOC by Lisa Tierney, pokes fun at Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale to hysterical results.
Ever since “…Shakespeare (Abridged)” these “mash-up/send- up” style shows keep cropping up and thank GOD they do, because we need some laughs these days.
Last year, some might recall last year's METRMag’s review of "THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES" by Steven Canny and John Nicholson at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA. which also followed a similar “mash-up” format of the “Sherlock Holmes” legend.
Now, in WCLOC's "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS," Greenberg and Rosen have gone a similar route yielding an entertaining outcome.
(Photo: A. Foley as "Dracula" with George Smith as "Jonathan Harker" in a scene from the comedy "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, presented by Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 26, 2025. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
Five actors play multiple roles from the original "DRACULA" saga in this send-up of the macabre legend.
"DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" actually first debuted as a radio play in May, 2020 (you may recall why it performed this way by looking at the date) with an all-star cast including Christopher Sieber, Laura Benanti, Annaleigh Ashford, Ashley Park Alan Tudyk, James Monroe Iglehart (who only just recently visited Worcester) and (for some reason) John Stamos.
"DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" was further developed by Greenberg at several theatres including Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Capital Rep in New York and in Montreal before ultimately premiering Off-Broadway in 2023.
(Photo: Sophia Vessecchia as "Lucy Westfeldt" with Sky Arsenault as "Mina" in a scene from the comedy "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, presented by Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 26, 2025. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
In the WCLOC story, Lucy Westfeldt (Sophia Vessecchia) along with her father, Dr. Westfeldt (Liz Couture) and her fiancé, Jonathan Harker (George Smith), enlist the help of famed female vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing (Sky Arsenault) when Lucy’s sister, Mina (also Sky Arsenault – just go with it), falls ill with a “mysterious disease of the blood” with Van Helsing suspecting vampirism.
Their suspicions lead to their hunt for the equally dangerous and debonair Count Dracula (A. Foley), a lustful, manipulative, vein...<ahem>“vain”...vampire from Transylvania, obsessed with either necking with Lucy or with Lucy's neck.
Smith is quite adaptable on stage as "Actor One" which includes the cowardly real estate agent Harker, while also taking on others minor roles that include using accents and puppetry skills as the Scottish “Lord Cavendish,” British “Lord Worthington,” and Texan “Lord Havemercy” (yes, Texan) - while also seen in the play portraying a “Bosun” and “Gravedigger.”
(Photo: Sophia Vessecchia as "Lucy Westfeldt" shares a moment with George Smith as "Jonathan Harker" in a scene from the comedy "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, presented by Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 26, 2025. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
As "Actor Two," Couture showcases great skill at split-second comedic timing as the learned-albeit-misogynist Dr. Westfeldt, who is quite adversarial of the female Dr. Van Helsing, and doubling as “Renfield” an insane patient of Dr. Westfeldt, who loves to eat bugs.
Couture also impresses as the ill-fated Captain of a doomed ship caught in a raging storm while carrying some “deadly cargo.”
"Actor Three" roles include the character of Lucy Westfeldt, and Vessecchia is absolutely charming as the young courageous woman that is the object of desire by both living and dead, man and vampire - yet also displays great versatility in the other "Actor Three" roles of a “Driver” and a kleptomaniac servant “Kitty Rutheford.”
Arsenault gives two resounding portrayals as "Actor Four":
First, as Lucy's unattractive sister, Mina – well, perhaps “unattractive” is too cruel – let’s just say Mina suffers from an acute case of “appearance deficit.”
Secondly, Arsenault take full charge for the second half of the play appearing as a serious doctor from Germany, the learned and fearless Dr. Van Helsing….Dr. JEAN Van Helsing.
Finally, as the show's fifth actor, A. Foley dominates in every scene with impeccable comedic timing as the voracious vampire.
(Photo: A. Foley as "Dracula" with Liz Couture as "Renfield" in a scene from the comedy "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, presented by Worcester County Light Opera Company in Worcester, MA. through October 26, 2025. Photo Credit: Amy Mae Photography)
Similar to “…Shakespeare (Abridged)” and “Baskervilles,” in "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" it should be noted that with intentionally frenzied structured comedies like these, in addition to execution of the material by a completely unified company of expert comedic performers, the technical requirements are all equally critical.
WCLOC succeeds on every technical level with "DRACULA" from an inventive set, to multiple costumes, wigs and props all calculated for the whirlwind exchanges involved, to the proficient use of lighting and sound cues - all integral to the success of "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS."
The coffin closes on "DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS" at WCLOC by October 26th, 2025 – So, try and catch this violently gag-laden vampire story before it flies away from Worcester…forever.
As the 2025-2026 season at WCLOC continues, coming up next will be Thornton Wilder's "OUR TOWN" which will seem like a quaint holiday gift for the season, beginning December 5th and running through December 14th, 2025.
For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org
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Approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE STORY
Ever wondered what would happen if you took Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale and put it into a blender with Mel Brooks, Monty Python and "The 39 Steps?"
That’s just what happens in this lightning-fast, laugh-out-loud, 90-minute, gender-bending romp.
When her sister Mina falls ill with a mysterious disease of the blood, Lucy Westfeldt and her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, enlist the help of famed female vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing.
Their hunt for the dangerous and sexy Count Dracula abounds with clever wordplay and quick-change antics.
Five actors play over a dozen roles in this bloodcurdlingly hilarious send-up of the literary classic.
For tickets or more information call WCLOC at # 508-753-4383 or visit www.wcloc.org
BUY TICKETS
ABOUT WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY (WCLOC)
Founded in 1937, WCLOC is Worcester’s oldest active theater company. As a local, non-profit community theater, we depend on the generosity of our members, patrons, subscribers, and donors to help forward the mission of our organization to entertain, inform, and nurture local artists and audiences through the production of high quality, affordable musicals, plays, and children’s educational workshops. A donation to WCLOC allows us to continue to keep tickets affordable for local audiences, helps us maintain and make necessary improvements to our Clubhouse, and supports a full season of memorable theater and educational opportunities.
WORCESTER COUNTY LIGHT OPERA COMPANY
P.O. Box # 51
Worcester, MA. 01613
# 508-753-4383
