Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors

by Gordon Greenberg, Steve Rosen

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Queer

106 pages, Paperback

Published December 20, 2023

Reviews

[em]

came for alex brightman, stayed for cunt dracula

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so fun. It's been a minute since I read Dracula, but I do think this includes most of the story. It's just irreverent. The vibe is similar to "What We Do in the Shadows". I hope I get to see it one day.

[Toad Soup · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10, I wish Dracula were my boyfriend

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of a reading committee for my community theater, to consider it for the season.

I am happy to report that it was selected, because it reads very funny. It's a very stilly and over-the-top farce, which is very, very loosely based on Dracula, and I'm looking forward to seeing it play out (and hopefully being in it).

To the loosely based, though...

Lucy and Mina are sisters, and their father runs the asylum. Harker is with Lucy, not Mina, and Mina is a sort of frumpy younger sister. Renfield eats bugs prior to meeting Dracula. The three suitors are literally a walk-on-bit and not involved in the story any further. Oh, and Van Helsing is a woman.

So, yeah...

But as long as you're not a purist - and, honestly, how could you be if you're turning Dracula into a farce - it seems like it'll be a very funny show.

[Liz Dial]

I read this play and then immediately wanted to pick it up and read it again. Hilarious, really gets to the meat of Dracula and the fact that he’s a little freak and that’s why we love him. This joins the ranks of my favorite vampire stories, namely What We Do in the Shadows. I was laughing out loud the whole time.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Sound effects: A door opens to reveal COUNT DRACULA, a sexually-charged rock star of a vampire clad in tight pants and vest.)

It’s like they read my senior symposium piece on Victorian Vampire Literature and understood what I meant at the core of it all. God, I can’t wait to see it.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly campy and over the top, I think this would really work as a production, but it's not so much a script that shines alone on the page. If you're looking for a campy, over the top comedy that also trades on name recognition, this is a solid choice.

[zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

campy, freaky, fun. i honestly was so into the recent off-broadway production and wish that could have had more of a long-term stint because that cast was just so charming...i am SURE it will be back!

[Lee Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for work. Fun, Mel Brooksian take on a classic story.

[dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s so fun and ridiculous, I absolutely loved this play.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delight. Reads a little corny sometimes, but that’s largely negated when performed. Fun, fast-paced, and somehow still maintains the general plot of the original.

[Myna Sowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! Slap stick funny but really funny!

[Millie · Rating 4 out of 5]

c*nt dracula carries

[aubrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

Not for me, read this since I am doing the dramaturgy for a production of this on campus. I see what the story is going for, wish it took it further...

[Javier Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was funny throughout. If only I could act I could have gotten the lead role as the hunky Dracula. I have a much better physique.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

this entertaining and funny af

[Tiffany Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Performed in a production this September-what a hit! Hilarious show - even some of the areas that feel a little "cringe-y" to read arr fantastic when executed well (most of Mina lol).

[Miranda Barnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

very silly, unfortunately some jokes fall flat ._.

[Lazulfila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. Short. Histrionic and definitely loOseLy based in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Really liked it. I'm looking forward to seeing the live show.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start this review with a fun (kind of) story about how I discovered this screenplay:
I’m scrolling on TikTok when I see a pale, sassy, sexy emotionally unavailable (possibly immortal) man performing in the campiest stage production to ever grace my eyes. Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with this retelling which, true to the warning on the cover, was indeed very very very loosely based on Stoker’s Dracula.
So I hop on over to the website to order tickets, and what do I see? The production left my city the day before I laid eyes on this glorious TikTok, and it doesn’t look like they’re coming back anytime soon (the not so fun part of this story). A true Shakespearean tragedy. So I do the next logical thing. I buy the screenplay so I can conjure wild hallucinations from ink-stained dead trees.

Here's my review based on those hallucinations:
Every part of this was hilarious, from the dialogue and the character depictions all the way to the stage directions (especially near the ending when all of the characters––including minor ones––are on stage together).
I loved that this script didn’t take itself seriously at all (and can we take a second to appreciate the suitor who should have had a real chance to shine––who only had five lines the entire script––whose name was, of course, Lord Havemercy, a la Yosemite Sam).
This is to show that, for lack of anything better to describe it, this was a true masterpiece.

[Owen Briggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little more Dracula Dead & Loving It than 39 Steps but this is a very fun read and would be a very fun and creative show to be a part of, acting or otherwise.