Written by orange• May 12, 2025• 5:18 am• Laguna Playhouse, No Square Theatre, Review, Theater, Uncategorized

Dracula : A Comedy of Terrors @ No Square Theatre – Review

photo credit: Sarah Whitwell

Written by Patrick Chavis

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is playing now at the No Square Theatre in Laguna Beach, May 2 – 18, 2025.

No Square Theatre presents a raunchy sex comedy, ala Dracula, with a campy script and a cast well-versed in sketch comedy.

A parody take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this play showcases many of the famous moments from the book but with a broad comedy edge and subversion of characters. Unlike the original tale, Jonathan Harker (Trevor Hart) is engaged to Lucy Westfeldt (Sarah Frazin) instead of Mina Westfeldt (Eric Parmer), and Dracula is more infatuated with Lucy instead of Mina, who is sex starved and can’t resist the Count’s batty allure. Dracula is much more dramatic than usual and walks around like a runway model. The only reason this Dracula doesn’t look in the mirror 24/7 is because he can’t see anything, which is a real bummer for him. When Mina takes ill, Dr. Van Helsing (Eric Parmer) is called to investigate a disturbing bite on her neck. Wild hijinks ensue as they try to slay the prince of darkness, but perhaps there’s more to Dracula than meets the eye.

Story/Direction:

Instead of high-falutin’ special effects, the play employs more makeshift options as part of the gag. Spray cans for smoke, rapid costume changes, extendable prop arms, and other techniques bring the laughter. With a piece like this, the most important part is bringing the fierceness, and Sawyer Reece Maier (Dracula) has it and then some as he prances around the stage like a Dracula via Fabio, who has an itch for hair products and, of course, blood.

Set/Costume Design:

Scenic design from Kylie Baumbusch and Teddy Pagee largely features a castle entrance backdrop with various spooky designs and textures. The floor follows suit with painted lines that almost look like cobwebs. The doorway and the spectacularly lit and smoky entrances are highlights of this production design. By centering many of the more difficult movements in the entrance way, like the bed, the loud entrances, etc., the rest of the space could be used for other, less intensive moments.

The gaudy but colorful outfits worn in this are similar to what people wore in the Victorian era, but so much louder and more ridiculous. Brigitte Harper’s wardrobe choices were right on the money.

Acting:

Besides Dracula, the actors impressively double and even triple play parts in this show, sometimes almost simultaneously, to hilarious effect. Nothing was more satisfying than watching Rebecca Leeds, running backstage for a costume change into her next character in what seemed like less than a minute. Not all heroes wear capes; some of them are named Renfield.

While Parmer (Mina) and Maier (Dracula) bring out much of the outrageous humor in this production, Sarah Frazin (Lucy) and Trevor Hart (Harker) play terrific straight men in this show, in contrast to Maier and Parmer. That being said, everyone goes a little wild in this show, and Frazin’s fluid transition between more straight-laced and over the top was right on target.

It’s not Shakespeare, but it’s a darn funny parody and quite a good time.