I was thinking about buying a book through Bookshop.org, then remembered my absolute favorite independent bookstore—The Tattered Cover, who I’ve continued to try and support even though I live out of state—was purchased by Barnes and Noble a few months ago. Sure enough, they are no longer selectable on Bookshop.org.
I will find another indie bookstore to support through online purchases (probably Boulder Bookstore)… but man. That really stings.
AT&SF locomotive, engine number 3870, engine type 2-10-2 and engine number 3744, engine type 4-8-2
Train #101, Centennial State; 14 cars, 25 MPH. Photographed: leaving Denver, Colo., May 29, 1943.
So, I saw a ballet production of Dracula last weekend (original choreography by Michael Pink) and I HAVE THOUGHTS.
I should caveat that I have never read Dracula before doing Dracula Daily this year, nor have I seen any other adaptations, and these are just the things I remember! I might look up the official recording of the Milwaukee version later if it’s still available, just to see how they compare.
This is really just a summary of this particular production/my impressions, but it got really long. Also contains spoilers (for the ballet: definitely, for the end of the book: maybe?? I’m keeping that part vague on purpose!)
Overall though I thought it was really good, really MOVING, with high production value. Great sets and costumes, including smoke/pyrotechnics, lots of story, as well as great staging and choreography. Music was very modern: dissonant and amelodic, and contributed hugely to the discomfort and horror. I am SO GLAD that I was familiar with the story and characters beforehand though, it made it so much easier to understand and (I think) that much more enjoyable.
I am also going to state up front here that the final scene (Act 3, Scene 3) included an explosion effect that was extremely loud, bright, and sudden. We were warned that it would occur before the ballet started, but as it comes so late and is meant to be an interruption to the action on stage, it was still a rather unpleasant surprise when it happened. According to someone in my party who has seen this version before, “it’s always that loud,” so try to keep that in mind if you ever end up seeing it in person, because it was honestly not the best effect to unleash in a dark theater!
I also generally would not recommend this ballet for young kids (aka as fun seasonal theatrical experience akin to The Nutcracker). Obviously everyone is different, but Dracula is a horror story with some intense and mature imagery that just keeps escalating, so if you are thinking about bringing a child, please consider if this is something they would enjoy very carefully! I would personally rate it T for Teens.
Ok, thanks for making it through my disclaimers, now on with the show:
It starts with a prologue. Jonathan having a very foreshadowy nightmare that includes many of the elements we’re about to see. He and Mina (in a wedding veil!) weave in and out of some increasingly unsettling stuff. It gets worse and worse and he wakes up SCREAMING MINA’S NAME and she rushes in to comfort him. Our good friend Jonathan is having a mental breakdown before he even leaves on his very bad business trip, and in this version, we can’t even blame it on paprika hendl! JONATHAN T^T
ACT I
Act 1, Scene 1: Jonathan departs for Transylvania. It is established that the Harkers know Van Helsing at this point. Renfield is also there. Right before Jonathan leaves, Mina wraps a red scarf around his neck. I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS AS A COSTUME CHOICE. The foreshadowing! The symbolism!! JONATHAN!!!!! T^T
Scene 2 shows Jonathan arriving at the village as the villagers are conducting a protection ritual. Sticks are knocked together and laid on the ground in a cross shape. A dead wolf is brought in and paraded around on pikes. Jonathan watches passively; I can practically hear his thought processes at this point. He is given a cross to wear around his neck. He is brought to the castle by an imposing coachman. The Count appears wearing a very cool blood-red coat. They enter.
Act 1 Scene 3: Jonathan is shown to his room. He takes off his cross (Jonathan NOOOOO!) and is immediately visited by the Weird Sisters. This is actually a very cool bit of staging (one of them appears from INSIDE HIS BED!!). Drac intervenes when things start getting Too Sexy(/he’s about to lose his midnight snack) and distracts the ladies by throwing them a thing in a bloody bag.
And then.
AND THEN!!!!
TWO-MAN PAS DE DEUX. This is an incredible bit of ballet. Paraphrasing someone else’s description, it is an absolutely AMAZING distillation of what Jonathan goes through at the castle. And just as the Count is about to bite… the scene shifts, and Jonathan is home, as if waking up from another terrible nightmare, once again screaming for Mina. THIS IS THE END OF ACT ONE.
ACT TWO
Act 2 is all about Lucy!! Scene 1 shows us a party at the Grand Hotel in Whitby. Unfortunately, this was one of the weaker scenes from a clarity perspective. There were LOTS of people on stage, mostly couples, and since it’s a different occasion, everyone is wearing different clothes. The program said that Jonathan and Mina would both be there, and I kept wondering “is that them??” until they ACTUALLY appeared, and the only real “tell” from where I was sitting was that they were interacting with Van Helsing (though I think Jonathan briefly had a cane? I might be mistaken, but AAH T^T). Before that, I had been hoping the Harkers were the couple dressed all in black—that would have been another amazing costuming choice, but I suppose they don't have that much to mourn (yet…).
Lucy was also really hard to spot, and as someone in my party pointed out, Lucy and Mina probably should have had different hair colors to make them more visually distinct (it’s not like wigs were off the table; Dracula’s danseur was wearing one). Basically, it was VERY hard to tell who the main characters were in this scene unless you were already familiar with the book!
It is also worth noting at this point that there is no Dr. Seward in this version. They seem to have combined his character with Van Helsing’s, which is also a bit unfortunate, because I was looking forward to Lucy dancing with her three guys.
BUT!!!!! Lucy still had Arthur and Quincey, which is fantastic (an adaptation that actually has Quincey!!! He had fringe on his jacket and BRIEFLY wore a cowboy hat, but he left it at the coat-check and never got it back XD). Their relationship dynamic was obvious, and very true to the book. Lucy got to dance with each of them, and also BOTH AT THE SAME TIME (Pas De Trois… what a queen!). And all of the Drac attack pack are friends. I am LIVING!!!
…and then the Count shows up. Boo! His presence goes unnoticed by almost everyone at this party. Jonathan has a bit of a relapse (:C), and while most of the main cast is looking after him, time seems to slow down for everyone but Lucy and the Count. He enthralls her for a bit, and then bites her—IN PUBLIC WHILE NO ONE IS WATCHING—before leaving. And she tries to carry on and dance like nothing is wrong, but she collapses. LUCY!!!!!!!! T^T
Scene 2 summarizes Lucy’s “illness” and turning. Everyone is concerned about her. I should mention we have moved to the sanatorium at this point (which I guess is Van Helsing’s?), and there is a very cool two-level set with Renfield doing some amazing pantomime in his cell up top, and Lucy’s room on the bottom. Mina gets to be there with the one she loves with all the moods and tenses of the verb, and that is SO IMPORTANT.
Van Helsing lays garlic around Lucy’s neck and bed, and everyone leaves to let her rest. Then the night nurse enters and is so offended by the smell she removes the garlic (nooooooo!). And then the Count comes again. First to Renfield, and then we DO get a little lizard fashion(/bat fashion) as he slithers down the set to Lucy’s bed (this was an amazing bit of athleticism, but there were stairs RIGHT THERE Drac, why do you have to be so extra?? XD). They dance some more, he bites her again, and then disappears, crawling backwards into the mist and shadows.
Everyone comes back, wondering what happened, but now Lucy is dying. She says her goodbyes to everyone (including Mina!!!!) and goes still. And then we get to see her ballerina execute an INCREDIBLE change in character as she becomes undead. And the Bloofer Lady escapes, crawling backwards into the shadows, in the exact same manner as the Count (lizard fashion Lucy!!). END OF ACT 2.
ACT THREE
Act 3 focuses on Mina. It starts with her in the Harkers’ bedroom at the sanatorium. She’s writing by herself, then falls asleep, and has a dream about Lucy (yes, really!). It’s more of a vision than a dream, in which she sees vampire!Lucy in her (now blood-stained) dress lure a child away into the night. It’s so good and creepy!! And then Mina wakes up. VH is there briefly, and then Renfield starts acting up. He escapes from his cell and attacks VH (miming licking VH's blood off the floor in a VERY recognizable moment!), and some orderlies subdue him and put him in a straightjacket. After VH leaves, Mina is sympathetic towards him, and they actually dance a pas de deux together (!!), which is both amazing and tragic because Renfield’s arms are bound :(
Scene 2 sees “the men” coming back, getting ready to hunt some vampires. If I remember correctly, VH tells Quincey to put his gun away, and gives him a cross instead (tragically, Drac is not shot at by a cowboy nor stabbed by a solicitor in this version). The Suitor Squad and VH leave for the evening.
Jonathan is exhausted. He takes all the pillows for himself (no offense to the ballet, but Jonathan Harker from my emails WOULD NEVER in the bed he shares with his wife!!) and crashes for the night. And then it’s Count Time again. Mina tries to shake her husband awake several times, but it’s to no avail (T^T). Van Helsing et al. burst into the Harkers’ room just as Mina is being forced to drink the Count’s blood, and he steals her and flees into the night.
Scene 3 is the hunt, and since that’s where we are in the book, I won’t go into too much detail (though I’m quite sure the ballet is taking some massive liberties at this point). Here’s what I will say about it: It takes place in the ruins of Carfax Abbey. There is a SURPRISE CHOIR IN THE ORCHESTRA PIT. Renfield dies by the Count’s hand. The Count dies by the polycule’s hand (I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that!!). But also, a character who I will not name dies by the Count’s hand. If this happens in the book, I will be DISTRAUGHT.
Amazingly, the Bloofer Lady is NOT shown to be killed. She just… disappears? Mr. Pink, can we get a sequel about her? Please?? :D
Genuinely, though, the ending was gutting, and I mean that in a good way. It’s the same sort of gutting as the novel has been thus far, showing these characters changed by the horrors they’ve been forced to face and the implication that they will never be the same as a result.
Final takeaway: I really liked it, though it may not be for everyone. The unique partnering in each act (Jonathan/Count, Lucy/Suitors, and Mina/Renfield) were the dance highlights for me, and I absolutely recommend it, if (like me) you’ve been following along with Dracula Daily and/or enjoy seeing the occasional contemporary ballet!
Happy Friday, and happy Summer Memory Weekend! I wanted to go big on the first day, so I made a fanmix... my FIRST fanmix, as it turns out! I tried to choose songs to compliment the journey of Hurricane Touchdown itself, centered around Daisuke and Wallace. NGL, there's a light shipping element to it too, but that aspect didn’t end up being particularly overt (in my opinion), so it's really just there if you want to hear it.
Listen here: YouTube | Spotify
(Please note that track 3 is incomplete on YouTube! The Spotify version is complete.)
The songs are intended to alternate between Wallace and Daisuke's POV, starting with Wallace.
Track list and additional notes beneath the cut!
Track list (total playtime: 54 minutes)
1. Lift Me Up (Leave Me Here) - Brent Cowles* | 2. All Star (cover) - Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! | 3. Russell - Honeytree Whiskey* | 4. I Told You So - Almost, Maine* | 5. Hurricane - One Flew West* | 6. Catching Yellow - Stacked Like Pancakes | 7. Blue Sky Happiness - Single File* | 8. Golden Summer - Songs of Water | 9. Same Old House - Compass & Cavern* | 10. Don't Stop Movin' - Pandas & People* | 11. Destiny - Fortune in Fallacy* | 12. Love Takes a Wrecking Ball - A Silent Film | 13. Down to Fate - Rob Drabkin* | 14. Golden - Maggie Eckford | 15. Nobody Knows - The Lumineers*
I highlighted some choice lyrics and tried to explain how I see each song relating to Hurricane Touchdown here, if you would like to read my ramblings.
One more thing: Because it’s something I have passing knowledge and an interest in, I set myself the extra goal of primarily featuring musicians from the state of Colorado, where Summer Memory is supposed to be located. These artists are marked with an asterisk in the list above. You’ll notice I managed it for all of Wallace’s songs, and even a few of Daisuke’s! To my knowledge, most of them have not "made it" outside of local radio station play, so if this mix helps you discover a song or group you happen to love, please consider supporting them.
AT&SF locomotive, engine number 3701, engine type 4-8-2, and engine number 3702, engine type 4-8-2
Train #101, Centennial State; 17 cars. Photographed: leaving Denver, Colo., April 24, 1943.
