You may think you know Dracula: Sexy, emotionally unavailable, bloodthirsty, and prone to transforming into a giant bat. Some of these characteristics may be unappealing. But wait — as played by Noah Israel, Dracula is full of hilarious human contradictions. He’s a rock god yet insecure. He will bite your neck but also make you a mean organic cake, gluten-free, cruelty-free, and vegan. He will toss his (largely female) victims aside without a thought, but he’s really a hopeless romantic looking for The One. Sure, you might end up a vampire yourself, but haven’t we all lost our identity in a relationship?
Although it is technically set in 1897, the script, by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, is festooned with wit, sexual innuendo, and contemporary cultural references that add to the fun: an Amazon package arrives, there are scenes evoking the Beatles’ Abbey Road and Abba’s Mamma Mia, and I even thought I heard a few bars from A Chorus Line. Dracula, the organic baker, asks for his cake pan back (after all, it’s Wedgewood).
This production highlights Dracula’s sensitive side in a particularly modern way: he needs therapy! Although he is a leather-clad “hot guy who takes off his shirt,” to quote the prologue, he also confesses to being bullied as a child. He wasn’t a monster. Just a lonely little boy wearing a cape.
Director Nick Martin has a way with actors, a capacity for nonstop, wildly original movement, and an instinct for hilarity that enhances every aspect of the production. There are, at different times: a conga line, Dracula dancing with a puppet representing Mina, and an ill-timed but heartfelt rendition of “God Save the Queen.”
Dracula’s eye falls on Lucy (played by Natalie Cutcher, who returns to Constellation after her delightful turn as Celimene in 2023’s The School for Lies). Their mutual infatuation is beset by humdrum undead complications: Will he bite her or won’t he? Will she recognize what he is? Will they kill each other? Will they kill other people? Is there such a thing as happily ever after for vampires?
They are surrounded by a madcap band of characters, with four of the five actors playing multiple roles. DC favorite Ryan Sellers plays Dr. Westfeldt, Mina’s father. He runs an insane asylum whose chief patient is the famous Renfield, also Ryan Sellers. Those who are familiar with Renfield’s passion for bugs and worship of his Master, Dracula, will enjoy every moment of Sellers’ breakneck performance. At one point, after a dramatic fall out a window as Renfield, he appears immediately, stage right, as Westfeldt. Quite a coup de théâtre.
Lucy’s sister, Mina (Julia Klavans), Westfeldt’s “second-favorite daughter,” is supposedly plain (well, not really, but the wig helps). She is looking for love, but is not averse to sex, and at one particularly fraught moment claims she “likes to watch.” Klavans is blessed with adept comic timing and, like all the actors, is able to switch from one emotional pose to another with breathtaking speed. Klavans also shines as a female Dr. Van Helsing; tough, knowledgeable, and ready for anything.
Cutcher’s Lucy is smart and spirited, an Oxford graduate, devoted to her fiancé Jonathan Harker (Sentell Harper), but not immune to temptation. Harper expertly draws out the comedy in the role of OCD-adjacent Jonathan, whose attraction to the adventurous Lucy causes him a heartbreak or two. Still, he turns out to be full of surprises. Who says a man can’t change?
The set design by Sarah Beth Hall offers numerous opportunities for actors to poke their heads out, receive bizarre presents, and attempt to avoid bats. There are even some handsome gravestones. The lighting design by Venus Gulbranson is inventive and full of flashing color. The striking sound design, which features everything from organ music to foghorns to waves and claps of thunder, is by Madeline “Mo” Oslejsek.
The props (Adam Hawley) include a razor scooter, papier-mâché hobby horses for the actors to “ride,” and, of course, the indispensable garlic, stake for the heart, and coffin. Special praise is due to Frank Lebovitz for the spectacular costumes, from Dracula’s rock-star glitz to Mina’s circus-girl skirts to whatever Jonathan is wearing when he discovers his inner vampire.
There are so many great Draculas. Bela Lugosi. Sir Christopher Lee. Gary Oldman. You may have your own favorite. In Constellation’s version we see, not for the first time, a Dracula with a heart. The classic tropes of the genre are satirized as well as embraced. That too is not unique.
But this Dracula has another quality that makes it perfect for the audiences of today. The key skill: survival. The key method: hilarity. Add a fake flying bat, a chorus, and a number of sexual indiscretions, and what more do you need?
Running Time: One hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors plays through February 15, 2026, presented by Constellation Theatre Company performing at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. Showtimes and tickets are available online or by calling the box office at 202-204-7741.
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
By Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen
Very loosely based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Directed by Nick Martin
CAST
Lucy Westfeldt and Others: Natalie Cutcher
Jonathan Harker and Others: Sentell Harper
Dracula: Noah Israel
Mina Westfeldt, Dr. Van Helsing, and Others: Julia Klavans
Dr. Westfeldt, Renfield, and Others: Ryan Sellers
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Nick Martin
Scenic Designer: Sarah Beth Hall
Costume Designer: Frank Lebovitz
Lighting Designer: Venus Gulbranson
Sound Designer: Madeline “Mo” Oslejsek
Props Designer: Adam Hawley
Puppet Designer: Andrea “Dre” Moore
Fight & Intimacy Director: Sierra Young
Gerrad Alex Taylor: Dialect Coach
Production Stage Manager: Luís Rámon Córdovez
PRODUCTION TEAM
Assistant Director: Lilli Hokama
Assistant Production Manager: Jenna Keefer
Assistant Stage Manager: Heather Hernandez
Wig Designer: Doni Rotunno
Wardrobe: Aliza Horowitz
Technical Director: Liam Fisher
Head Carpenter: Spencer Munshi
Scenic Change Artist: Megan Holden
Head Electrician: Ben Harvey
Light Board Programmer: Susannah Cai
Light Board Operator: Sam Linc
Audio Engineer: Zak Starry
SEE ALSO:
Constellation Theatre announces cast for ‘Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors’ (news story, December 5, 2025)
