A FANG-TASTIC CASE
OF MISTAKEN BITENTITY

Center REP’s quick-change vampire farce takes a bite
out of Bram Stoker and leaves the audience howling

Danny Scheie and Sidney Matthew Román in Center REP’s Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors

Most of us know Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula. The suave and sexy Count Dracula lives in a dark castle in Transylvania, sleeps in a coffin during the day, and roams the night in search of victims whose blood keeps him alive. This scary and suspenseful story has been portrayed for years in movies, television shows, and novels. Every generation seems to find a new way of telling it. But no matter what you think you know about Dracula, you have probably never seen an incarnation quite like Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, now playing at Center REP’s Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.

The five-member cast plays nearly 20 roles, and the transformations are part of the fun. An actor turns around or exits the stage, only to reappear moments later in a wig or dress, sporting a completely different accent. Male actors play female characters and vice versa. It’s like an improv class operating at breakneck speed, and the audience needs a few minutes to catch up.

Kevin Clarke, Kina Kantor, Elissa Beth Stebbins, Danny Scheie

The story follows the familiar outline, though little else is conventional. Mild-mannered English real estate agent Jonathan Harker (Elissa Stebbins) travels to Transylvania to arrange a property deal with the legendary Count Dracula (Sidney Matthew Roman). Tall, handsome, and charming, the Count wears black and sports a sweeping cape. He wants to purchase property in England, but Jonathan soon realizes his prospective client is a vampire with an enormous ego and an eye for Jonathan’s attractive young fiancée, Lucy Westfeldt (Kina Kantor).

When Dracula arrives in England, he wastes little time pursuing Lucy. Her spinster sister Mina (a hilarious Danny Scheie) practically throws herself at the Count, but soon falls mysteriously ill. Jonathan, Lucy, and their father, Dr. Westfeldt (the delightful Kevin Clarke), turn to the eccentric vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (also Scheie) for help.

Sidney Matthew Román

What follows is a frantic battle to save Mina and Lucy, played with broad, farcical line deliveries and a knowing wink at the audience. Sight gags, pop-culture references, sexual innuendo, and quick costume changes come flying from every direction. Not every joke lands—humor is subjective, after all—but the actors throw themselves into the silliness with infectious enthusiasm. Much of the comedy comes from the sheer speed of their transformations. Clarke, for instance, turns his head, removes his top hat, and instantly transforms from Dr. Westfeldt into Renfield, Dracula’s feeble and incompetent assistant.

Bay Area favorite Danny Scheie steals the show as Mina, Lucy’s outrageous, heavyset sister. His high-pitched delivery and gleefully foul mouth are hilarious, and he’s equally effective as the decidedly butch vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing. His ability to switch between these wildly different personalities without missing a beat is a comic highlight.

Elissa Beth Stebbins, Danny Scheie, Kina Kantor, Kevin Clarke

Advertised as Mel Brooks meets Monty Python, this 90-minute romp crams an astonishing amount of action into a single act. Director Becca Wolff gives her talented ensemble plenty of freedom to play these over-the-top characters while keeping the proceedings moving. Playing comedy with a straight face is an acquired skill, and this cast has clearly mastered it.

Liliana Duque’s dark scenic design provides the ideal setting for characters to appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Becky Bodurtha’s costumes, from tweed blazers and hoop skirts to Dracula’s sexy cape, help the actors establish their many identities almost instantaneously. The quick changes are so integral to the humor that the costumes become part of the comic machinery.

Walnut Creek may be a bit of a drive from San Francisco, but this horror farce is worth the trip. The cast is having a blast, and so is the audience. Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors may not have a joke that lands every time, but it has more than enough bite to keep the laughs coming.

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photos by Kevin Berne

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
Center Repertory Company
Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek
90 minutes
ends on November 15, 2026
for tickets, call 925.943.7469 or visit Center REP

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