Wear your biggest crucifix, rub yourself with garlic and don’t forget to pack some Holy Water because the most famous bloodsucker in all of Gothic literature is coming to the stage at Oxford High School on Halloween.
On Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center, the Oxford Theater Company will proudly present a one-act play entitled ‘Dracula: The Death of Nosferatu.?
Adapted from the 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, the 45-minute play tells the story of Count Dracula, a very old and powerful vampire who lives in the Carpathian Mountains on the border of Transylvania and Moldavia, and his unholy quest to make innocent Mina Murray his eternal bride.
‘It’s actually the end of the Bram Stoker book,? said Director Debra Brown, the OHS teacher who serves as adviser to the Theater Company.
Dracula is being played by sophomore Zach Throne and Mina by Allison Kemp.
Standing in the way of the un-dead count’s fiendish plan is the most famous vampire hunter in history, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, and Mina’s future husband, Jonathan Harker.
Van Helsing will he played by Steve Nara and Harker by Jacob Bruebaker.
The final battle between Van Helsing’s group and Dracula will ultimately free Mina from the vampire’s spell and end the count’s bloody reign of terror once and for all.
Other characters include Dr. John Seward (played by Zach Schwartz), an asylum psychiatrist; Renfield (played by Bethan Angell), an insane patient of Seward’s who eats insects, spiders, birds and other creatures in order to absorb their life force; and a nurse named Snelling (played by Sammie Hein).
Student directors include Alex Anderson and Aaron Malinowski. A.J. Ash will serve as the backstage manager and Georgia Thelen as producer.
Admission to the play is $3 for anyone age 13 and older.
‘We can’t have any students under 13 because it’s pretty gory,? Brown noted.
Brown’s hoping the 9:30 p.m. time will fit perfectly with folks? Halloween plans.
‘We want to get people after trick-or-treating,? she said.