By Jeanne Beechwood
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a Bram-new comedy you can really sink your teeth into. It premiered off Broadway at New World Stages on September 4, 2023. Now locally Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors will receive its Kansas City Premiere with The Cyclopedic Ensemble’s production at the Arts Asylum opening Oct. 24 and running through November 9. The Cyclopedic Ensemble is a non profit organization with a mission to provide opportunities for early-career actors, designers and technicians.
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a laugh-out-loud 90-minute gender bending, quick-changing play about Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire that can entertain all blood types and introduce Generation Z to the entertainment of horror from yesteryear in a new way. Directed by Eric Yazell, Artistic Director of the Cyclopedic Ensemble. “It is as if Mel Brooks and Monty Python had a love child!” says Yazell.
In a recent interview with Yazell and his talented cast, the room was filled with respect and dedication to the preciseness of this comedic piece. While Yazell has years of professional experience as a theatre professional and educator, all of the cast members of Dracula are newbies who auditioned and are experiencing their first Cyclopedic Ensemble production and obviously having a blast.
A multi-talented cast of six play all the characters. Dustin Reckling, Noa Adams, Gracie Heath, Nat Weber, Christoph David Cording and Joshua Gleason. Logan Peralez serves as stage manager and Lindsey Edwards is the assistant director. Adriana Randall is the set designer and is a board member of the Cyclopedic Ensemble. Her design of the set calls for many opportunities for tomfoolery. The day of the interview, Adrianna, a professional visual artist, was placing skulls around the grey castle walls filled with just a pop of color. The cast is also called upon to do puppetry while portraying their characters. It indeed is a madromp of multi-tasking.
This KC world premiere takes place in the mountains of Transylvania. A meek English real estate agent takes a harrowing journey to meet a new mysterious client who just happens to be the most terrifying and ferocious monster the world has ever known– Count Dracula! The famed vampire hunter Van Helsing and company chase Dracula from Transylvania to the British countryside and to London and back.
With admiration of the acting style made immensely popular and brilliant by New York artists Charles Ludlam and Charles Busch in the Art of Camp, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, is a campy vamp romp that has received rave reviews from TimeOut in New York, Broadway World, Forbes and The New York Sun. Yazell and his cast guarantee the show’s same campy antics will increase your pulse and cause blood curdling screams of laughter as a Kansas City Premiere.
The Arts Asylum, run by Korey Childs, is a welcoming venue for small theatre groups to find an affordable place to perform. It is located at 824 East Meyer Blvd. There is plenty of parking available. Tickets for Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors are $30. You can get a discount by using dracyaz on your ticket order. On Halloween, if you come in costume, it is a pay what you can plan. This show is best rated as PG 13.
Showtimes are Thursday Oct. 24, Friday Oct. 25 , Saturday Oct. 26, Thursday Oct. 31, Friday November 1, Thursday November 7, Friday November 8, and Friday November 9 at 7:30 pm. The show is performed without an intermission.
Tickets can be ordered on Eventbrite or CyclopedicEnsemble@gmail.com. Have teeth, will travel to grab your tickets today!