Dracula

by Charles Morey (Adaptor), Bram Stoker, Denise Carole (Reading)

Before Twilight and True Blood, only one vampire commanded "the children of the night." In this blood-thirsty tale of unholy terror, Count Dracula slips into Victorian London with a cargo of his native Transylvanian soil - so he can rest between victims. The city seems helpless against his frightful power, and only one man, Dr. Van Helsing, can stop the carnage. But to do this, he must uncover the vampire's lair and pierce his heart with a wooden stake. Program note from Rosalind Ayres, director of the live performance by L.A. Theatre "For centuries man has dreamed of a life beyond death. Chinese Emperors were buried with clay armies to protect them in the next world. Egyptian Pharaohs were entombed with all the belongings they would need in the afterlife. But how might it be possible to cheat death itself? Well, try the myth of the Vampire. One who, by constantly drinking the 'life force,' the blood of others, could ensure eternal survival. In Charles Morey's dramatization of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, the creed of the Vampire and the Christian belief in 'life everlasting' is juxtaposed. It's the eternal struggle between good and evil. Plus, the confidence of scientific beliefs and theory, marred only by that uncomfortable shaft of inexplicable fear when something goes 'Bump' in the night. Enter Dracula..." An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance David Selby as Abraham Van Helsing John Glover as Renfield Simon Templeman as Count Dracula Matthew Wolf as Arthur Holmwood Moira Quirk as Lucy Westenra Lisa O'hare as Mina Murray Harker Nick Toren as Dr. John Seward Karl Miller as Jonathan Harker André Sogliuzzo as Maxwell and others Sheelagh Cullen as Mrs. Westenra and others Denise Carole as Tart and others Directed by Rosalind Ayres. Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.

Genres: Classics, Horror, Audiobook, Fiction, Paranormal

Audio CD

Published October 31, 2011

About the author

See also:

Charles Rufus Morey, author of Christian Art
Charles William Morey, author of Higher Arithmetic

Reviews

[ekrobin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a very solid version of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The performances are very well done and the abridged story itself reminds me a lot of Francis Ford Coppola's film (1992). Some sections of the play, however, don't quite transfer from the stage to the audio-drama format very clearly in my opinion, as the audio format relies very heavily on sound effects to provide context to the scene(s).

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don’t want to read the entire book and haven’t seen the movie, this is a fine substitute. However, i didn’t find it much different from the movie at all. This is NOT the text of the book in audio format, so i felt it would be disingenuous to leave this review on the original book page. This is an adaptation of the story for a different audience.

[Jess | dapper.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adaptation of the longer version of the story of Dracula. I found this one and decided to give it a try while I wait for the original to be available from my library. I got the audio and it’s awesome! Feels like really listening to a play being acted on stage - which I find quite enjoyable!

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 2 out of 5]

A perfectly fine adaptation with decent performances. Felt very inspired by the Coppola movie interpretation, in what emphasis it chose to put on the story, but that could just be due to it being the same book after all (and hard to judge from just sound, not seeing the visual production).

[Amy Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful performance from the LA Theater Works production.

[Becky Manson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Dracula - and this was an easy and accessible version/format to enjoy it.

[Rawle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may have done myself a disservice with this one. While the actors performed their roles phenomenally, and the moody sound-effects set the stage expertly, this was more of an abridged version of the novel with much of the prose left out. They captured the essence of Stoker's novel but let some of the heart of it escape. Knowing the story beforehand didn't make it any better, or rather this version does not go beyond what I had already learned from movies or comics-which all told had always been intriguing. But it does nothing to inspire the allure in me that so many have held toward the subject material. This was simply a well-acted play of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It satisfied my interest in the author (so now I can say I read Bram Stoker, and wasn't all that impressed). Maybe one day I will revisit the novel in its full length prose format, but its on to bigger and better things from here.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad I found this as play -- love LA Theatre Works, as I have wanted to enjoy this classic story, however I was not looking forward to reading the long form as I've heard that much of it is written in an epistolary fashion.

[Black Flamed Candle Books 🕯️📚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate this audiobook 3.5/5 stars. ⭐️ I loved how dramatic and theatrical it was.