Theatre Workshop of Owensboro is offering a comedic twist on the classic vampire tale with “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors.” The show will run for the next two weekends at the Trinity Centre.
This show follows the story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but in a way that Owensboro has never seen. Director Kevin Brown said this brand-new approach to the world’s most famous vampire takes inspiration from comedy legends such as Mel Brooks and Monty Python, as well modern influences such as the TV show “What We Do In The Shadows.”
“One unique aspect of this take on Dracula is that all of the characters that you know and love from the original novel are played by only five actors,” Brown said. “That means that myself and my assistant director, Michelle, were given the task of casting five performers who could each carry the weight of performing with multiple accents, mannerisms, and character traits in the same show, and sometimes in the same scene. Lucky for us, we found five people who could do just that.”
This show marks Brown’s first time directing.
“Interestingly, I have found that my experience leading games of Dungeons and Dragons has translated directly into how I direct for the stage,” he said. “Both are collaborative forms of storytelling that ultimately rely on a group to build a narrative from the ground up. Leading a D&D game is all about knowing how to describe the world that’s in your head, and being a director is all about knowing how to communicate that world so that the people around you can bring it to life.”
Brown encouraged the community to come out and see the show to kick off the Halloween season.
“They will laugh, cry, and gasp at a noticeable, but not-too-intrusive, level,” he said. “By the time the curtain closes, they will have experienced one of the most unique evenings of entertainment that Owensboro has to offer.”
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays each of the next two weekends. The Trinity Centre is located at 407 West 5th Street.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the box office by calling 270-683-5333 or online at theatreworkshop.org by clicking on “Buy Tickets.”
The production is sponsored by Robynn Clark of Edward Jones and Bryan Reynolds of Reynolds & Associates. The 2024-2025 season is sponsored by Owensboro Health.
