about, which is the Christian
ethics - an incredibly potent
myth. The novel is written from
the point of view of a believer.
Stoker was a good Catholic. This
posits the vampire as the Anti-
Christ and the only thing that
can defeat him is the goodness
of Christ.
I wanted to be faithful to the
novel because I think the novel
hits it right at the dead center
of where we have fear of death,
hope for the afterlife, and sex,
death and God all meet in a sort
of potent psychic mythic brew.
That’s what the novel touches on
and evokes strongly, and that’s
what I wanted to do on stage. I
didn’t think any of the existing
adaptations did it.
Culturally, Dracula has moved
beyond its original roots as
a novel and has become this
cultural icon which has been
demythologized in so many
ways. I mean Count Chocula is
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 51
used for kids’ breakfast cereals
and The Count teaches children
how to count on Sesame Street.
A lot of the movies we’ve seen
recently tend to be somewhat
camp. This adaptation tries to
go back to the basic story and
tap into those mythic roots. It
can be very creepy when it’s
done right. It can be very scary.
Ultimately, when you think
about it, Dracula is a ghost story.
It’s a story we read to scare
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