As we get closer to October and Halloween, students at Saint Anselm College should get ready for the thrilling new production put on by the Abbey Players: “Dracula,” based on the gothic novel by Bram Stoker! The play will open on Friday, October 31, and there will be shows on Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 2nd for those who can not make it to opening night. One of the Abbey Players described the play, saying “Vibes are, of course, spooky-scary, so come ready for Halloween vibes!”

For those who do not know much about the book, it follows a young man Jonathan Harker as he meets a nobleman in Transylvania. Count Dracula is surrounded by rumors and warnings, and lives in an old, crumbling castle. Harker realizes that the Count is a supernatural being and barely escapes the castle. Harker’s fiance Mina and her friend Lucy begin to experience strange events back in England. Eventually, a vampire hunter named Dr. Van Helsing is called in and the group of heroes must hunt down Dracula and destroy him. 

The cast of “Dracula” is made up of twelve Abbey Players: Jonathan Harker will be played by Jordan Tavares, Mina will be played by Ellie Posanka, and the role of Lucy will be filled by Audrey Cote. Other members of the cast include Liam Hodge, Riley Keuver, Duke Addy, Vincenzo Scicchitano, Ava Linhares, Katie Cashman, Amelia Harper, and Israel Small. And of course, the infamous vampire, Count Dracula, will be played by Mason Abboud, a senior Marketing major with minors in Communications and Professional and Creative Writing. So far, the Abbey Players have been working very hard to get the play ready. “The rehearsal process has been going very smoothly!” said Mason, “We are fully finished blocking Act 1, and have been able to review it quite a bit. We should be finished blocking Act 2 by next week, and then everyone can start honing in on their characters, physicality, accents, relationships, and everything else that comes with character formation!” For those unfamiliar with theatre, “blocking” is when the actors learn where they should enter, exit, stand, and move while on stage. Acting is not just saying lines, the actors must use their bodies, positioning, and movements to make a story come to life, and “blocking” is the first step in making that happen. While there are many different interpretations of Bram Stoker’s novel, some of them more funny than scary, this play will stick much closer to the original story. Mason reported that “Although there are definitely some scenes that crack me up, Dracula is definitely not a comedy. It’s a pretty serious show based on the classic Bram Stoker novel (with some interesting twists and changes to be sure).” Audience members should prepare for a thrilling, supernatural tale of horror, murder, and suspense. 

In the past few years, the Abbey Players have done “The Diviners,” “Ariel,” “Clue,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “12 Angry Jurors,” and “Guys and Dolls.” Masons said that in comparison to the other shows, “You’re not gonna want to miss it; the whole cast and crew are putting their all into it. It’s definitely a very heavy and taxing show, but hopefully that’ll make the end result even better. Lots of pressure though; our last couple shows have been pretty damn good.” The bar might be high, but the Abbey Players know what they are doing, and hopefully this will be their best play yet! “Dracula” has many layers: there is romance between multiple characters, mystery and murder, supernatural drama, tragedy, and victory, and vengeance. The show has a little bit of something for everyone, and what play could be more perfect for a Halloween opening show? Mason is looking forward to the audience’s reaction to a lot of things, but “Without a doubt, the costumes and set. Honestly, it’s what I’m looking forward to seeing the most! There’s going to be some really ambitious set design, courtesy of our Set Director Alyssa Hili, and some fantastic period-accurate costuming, courtesy of Costume Director Enzo Scicchitano. Hopefully I can spook some folks a little as well!” The audience should get ready to get spooked. Tickets are already on sale on tickets.anselm.edu, but will also be available at the doors before each show.