DRACUL: PRINCE OF FIRE
DRACUL: PRINCE OF FIRE
Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
The Crucible, an Educational Collaboration of Arts in West Oakland, is presently staging an immense, multimedia, spectacle: an amazing amalgam of fire, iron, bronze, modern dance, classical ballet, aerial gymnastics, swashbuckling, cult fiction, high and low tech effects, and a stirring drama: DRACUL: PRINCE OF FIRE.
Designed and directed by Michael Sturtz of Alameda, this is without doubt, the most creative and eclectic blend of performance and artistic elements to ever be staged in the bay area. The set alone is a shop teacher's pipe dream: 20,000 pounds of steel are forged, welded, riveted and fashioned—conforming to a set design by Benjamin Carpenter—into the stygian castle of the nefarious Prince Dracul. Props include a fire breathing dragon, the size a submarine, that is scary enough to dampen the knickers on a preschooler. This show is not for the anemic (no pun intended) nor for the faint hearted. The dragon, an epic pile of mobile metal and hydraulics, was designed and crafted by Dann Davis. As if the stage and dragon were not enough to build a psychic bridge to your phantasmagorical dream world, the whole set is laced with erupting fire: a pyromaniac would have a holiday.
The story line liberally borrows elements from a number of recognizable vampire traditions. Brad (danced by Ethan White) and Janet (danced by Kay Bohnstedt) venture in from the ROCKY HORROR SHOW. They are ushered in by a Riff-Raff clone (played by Simon Chaban) and are amongst the first innocents to mistakenly call upon the sanguivorous Prince Dracul (performed by Brett Womack).
Buffy the Vampire Killer (performed by Sadie Henderson)--an intrepid anti-vampire crusader ruthlessly ripped from RHONDA THE IMMORTAL WAITRESS--arrives to engage Prince Dracul in mortal combat. Thanks to wolf bane, garlic, crucifixes, holy water, crosses, silver bullets, wooden stakes and chivs, generous sponsors and inexplicable Nielsen ratings, Buffy miraculously survived six improbable sanguine seasons on television (It was enough to make you want to yank your TV cable up through your over-irrigated lawn and wrap it around your throat; think of it: AP&T's $44 million debt was incurred purchasing broadcast rights to schlock like BUFFY). Prince Dracul sends a hemorrhaging Buffy on to WASP heaven after one very well executed fight scene (choreographed by Jonathon Rider) and a pas de deux (choreographed by Viktor Streshinsky).
Homage to Michael Jackson's THRILLER—which made 14 minutes of music video history—is among the more conspicuous iconic splices. Nearly twenty dancers--faithful to the original choreography of Michael Peters—are lead by Prince Dracul—as they perform a stunning and faithful rendition of the graveyard ghouls. They are backed-up by a mega-sound system, fire and lighting (by Lucas Krech). Collectively, it is guaranteed to sling you back in your seat. The make-up (by Shamika Baker) is dramatic and faithful to the original (done for THRILLER by Rick Baker).
This performance piece is far from being staged on a traditional two dimension plane: this is a 3-D cabaret approaching the grandeur and whimsical magic—if not the scale—of the Moulin Rouge or Cirque du Soliel. Lithesome aerialists perform strenuous, yet graceful, gymnastics from ropes, poles and trapezes; fight scenes rival the tumbling of Kathy Rigby and Mary Lou Retton.
While the theme, i.e.Vampires, may seem too trite, gothic or emo to be taken seriously by the haute sophisticates or culture police, the performances are unequivocally top notch. No where this side of the Seine River are you likely to see such an extravaganza or partake of such a festival of sight and sound. The choreographer, videlicet Victor Kabaniaev, received formal training in Russia and has created over forty dance and ballet works. Tina Bohnstedt (Janet) is on loan from the Diable Ballet and Ethan White (Brad) is from the Smuin Dance Company.
The show is awash with Alamedeans: the staid hamlet of Alameda is secretly a Bohemia: a hot bed of talent and creativity. The Crucible offers them a place to go to share, learn, explore, create, and be inspired. Alameda talent is highly represented in DRACUL: Ake Grunditz and Leslie Frierman Grunditz created the emblematic centerpieces for the set: two immense gilded fire-breathing dragons. Other Alameda residents involved with The Crucible and DRACUL are Jennifer Harrity (Graphic Designer), Michael Sturtz (Founder and Executive Director), Neal Taikeff (Glass Instructor and Fabricator), Jan Schlesinger (Marketing Director), Michael Schiess (Head of Neon & Light Department), Christian Schiess, Norman Moore and Heather Wilson (Neon & Lights).
The show ends this weekend with a Gala performance on Saturday Evening, January 17th.
For more information on leaping out of the winter doldrums and into the fire, surf on over to info@thecrucible.org call THE CRUCIBLE at 510 444-0919.