FVCC Theatre Presents ‘Dracula’

The Flathead Valley Community College Theatre smells of garlic. The fabled vampire repellent is a classic prop for a classic story, and while the company’s performance of American playwright Steven Dietz’s “Dracula” will feature modern touches and special effects, the script sticks to the original horror story written by Victorian novelist Bram Stoker.

“It’s a new telling,” said the show’s director, theater arts professor Joe Legate. “But it follows the novel better than any theater script I’ve ever seen — It hangs close to the story.”

The ageless story of Dracula, the soulless, centuries-old vampire who was once a Transylvanian nobleman with a good heart, is one we know well.

“He’s evil, he eats people, and we get him in the end,” said Legate. “It’s not a surprise.”

The excitement comes not from a suspenseful storyline, but from the modern telling.

“This script is very cinematic,” said Legate. “It moves fast, with short scenes and constant musical accompaniment. There are special effects all over the place, explosions and lights.”

Even so, the power of the show is rooted in Dietz’s dedication to Stoker’s story.

“Other scripts are disappointing,” said Katie Keller, the student who plays Mina Murray, the story’s virtuous, clever heroine. Some scripts place the characters in the wrong era, change relationships between them, or omit plot twists.

Tanner Fortre, who plays Dracula, agreed. “I loved the script,” he said.

“When I came across the script, I knew the kids would have a field day with it,” said Legate. After almost 40 years of directing shows, Legate says he’s going down his bucket list, putting on all the shows he’s always dreamed of.

Keller has also long been a fan of Dracula. “I got that from my Dad,” said Keller. “I was really hoping for this role. Mina was progressive. At the time, women didn’t speak out loud. They were spoken to. But Mina made herself heard. People don’t realize it, but she’s very independent.”

She is, after all, the character who comes up with the plan that outsmarts Dracula and leads to his demise.

However familiar the basics of Dracula’s story are, the finer details may need a refresher.

The story begins with Jonathan Harker, a young, bright-eyed English lawyer, who travels to the far reaches of Transylvania to seal a business deal with a mysterious man named Count Dracula. After a few days’ time at the castle as Dracula’s guest, Harker realizes the count is holding him prisoner. He remembers the cautions of the local peasants he met who pressed crucifixes into his hands, and senses the presence of some dark supernatural power. After an attack by three beautiful, lustful female vampires, he manages to escape by crawling over the castle wall.

Back in London, a wrecked ship is discovered on the shore. Inside are 50 wooden crates sent from Count Dracula, each containing only soil.

Not long after, Lucy, Harker’s fiancée Mina’s best friend, falls ill. Lucy finds two red marks on her throat and cannot account for their origin. After unsuccessful attempts to save her life, Lucy dies and her body is laid to rest in a coffin. But she does not truly die — a vampire, she rises and begins to prey on townspeople. Once an ideal of purity and innocence, she salaciously beckons to her fiancé while wearing a garland of infant’s shoes. Harker, Lucy’s fiancé, and the doctor see no choice but to slay Lucy, and, though terrified of the count, dedicate themselves to slaying Dracula, too.

“The beauty of Dracula is that he can be so evil because he’s so charismatic,” Fortre said. “I view myself as a happy person, and I had to get to that dark place, feel the evil and charisma he’s supposed to have.”

Meanwhile, Mina begins exhibiting the same symptoms as her friend. Then the crew makes a discovery from vampiric lore about those 50 wooden crates of earth. And when Mina has a brilliant epiphany, they set out to destroy Dracula once and for all.

For those who don’t remember the ending, the Flathead Valley Community College Theatre’s actors will bring it to life starting Oct. 23 inside the Arts & Technology building on the college’s Kalispell campus. There are also shows on Oct. 24 and 29-31. General admission tickets are $10 each, and tickets for students and senior citizens are $5. The show contains horror and violent scenes. Parental guidance is advised. For more information, call the FVCC Theatre Box Office at 756-3906.