Cynthia Erivo's Dracula - Terrifying Pics!- Page 3

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 1:18pm

“She completed filming onboth WICKED films in January 2024. Both films were shot simultaneously not separately. This was 2 years ago."

There were weeks of reshoots both later in 2024 and 2025, on top of her other professional commitments and appearances. It’s not like she’s been sitting at home doing nothing since January 2024, let’s be real. 

We get it, Ensemble, you think not being off book day one rehearsals is unacceptable. We got it. Don’t need to beat a dead horse. 

[Kad]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 1:42pm

Stars at Erivo's level often have hired people who help them learn lines, especially for a heavy lift like this. It's not like she's slacking or left to her own devices here. 

[Ensemble1670470656]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 2:22pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "“She completed filming onboth WICKED films in January 2024. Both films were shot simultaneously not separately. This was 2 years ago."

There were weeks of reshoots both later in 2024 and 2025, on top of her other professional commitments and appearances. It’s not like she’s been sitting at home doing nothing since January 2024, let’s be real.

We get it, Ensemble, you think not being off book day one rehearsals is unacceptable. We got it. Don’t need to beat a dead horse."

Everyone knows she is a busy lady. As are other professional actors. It's her job and she is experienced enough to know her limits. She booked the play over a year ago and she knew what she signed up for and was aware of her schedule. If she doesn't have the time to learn the lines the producers should have booked at a later date that fits her schedule better or she should have chosen an easier play or just say no. I don't care if she is off book in rehearsals, but it is unacceptable to not know her lines during previews, for a paying audience. Any performance will improve with time, but with previews at full price, and inflated due to star casting, it's not unreasonable to expect the actor to do the most basic part of the job that is knowing lines. A preview is not a rehearsal, there may be some final tweaks made according to audience reaction, and normal mistakes, but it's still a fully working performance. If an actor in a west end show not as big named as Erivo doesn't have the lines memorized at previews, or in many cases first rehearsal, no matter how many words they have, they will be in trouble with producers/directors. 

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 3:54pm

If this is anything remotely close in scale to what Sarah Snook was doing in Dorian Gray, then IMO, Erivo is absolutely owed a bit of grace during previews. It's a different story after opening night. But what was required of Snook in Dorian Gray was one of the most gargantuan feats I've ever seen an actor take on. Again, I have no idea how similar the burden is on Erivo's shoulders compared to Snook's, but from what I can tell, it's not like she's performing a two-hour monologue while sitting in a chair. It is a massive technical undertaking and responsibility.

[binau]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 5:04pm

Ok so I’ve just seen it. 

No heavy spoilers but a little so be warned. 

In an alternative reality I’d be saying that this is the most creative and innovative thing I’ve ever seen and that Cynthia is giving one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. 

In reality I was a little bored. The problem isn’t Cynthia Erivo. I actually think she is genuinely amazing. She navigates the different characters and accents expertly. She commands the stage. She can go from feminine ingenue to masculine hunk and be actually believable. This is a stunning achievement.  The production and material feel perfectly tailored to her skills and persona, using her nails (which tbh was giving me hilarious flashbacks to the whole Ariana grande thing), using her bald head as a vehicle to make her disappear in wigs, even singing a line or two!!! My jaw dropped. 

But the problem is the show concept to me is so tired after Dorian Gray. Maybe now I know how people feel when they complain about John Doyle’s actor-musicians (think Company after Sweeney), or Jamie Lloyd’s camera work and men in black underwear. It was just not as exciting to see the same technical shtick repeated for another 2 hours. Of course they find new ways to explore it, new mis en scene, new contrasts, new ways to shape the image such as a cross (get it?) - although the top is cut off for those up high so there is a supplementary small screen.

It was kind of eerie and fitting that vampires couldn’t be seen in the mirror and we couldnt often see them either because of the filming concept so it kind of blurred the technical effect with a bit of the aesthetic of the story. 

Cynthia’s performance screams very rough first preview or dress rehearsal right now. So it’s actually watchable and there were no long stops or car crashes but she flubbed countless, countless, countless times. More than I’ve ever seen on stage before (but less painful than Elaine Stritch in Night Music, trust me). I also saw the infamous teleprompters on occasion off stage. 

It wasn’t just the line flubs but the tentative line reading when she had to navigate remembering the lines, saying the lines and playing a character. Still, I would say this is still (just barely) acceptable for me so I hope she can just get this down and we can focus on the show. I’m a bit surprised to hear opening night is so soon, if they don’t change the date I think she will mostly get there but I wouldn’t be surprised to still have a couple slip ups. The work is just so long and so much to do and say. 

If you have not seen Dorian Gray, I would book immediately for a few weeks time.

If you have, the show is optional but probably going to be satisfying enough for Cynthia Erivo fans. 

 

Updated On: 2/11/26 at 05:04 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 5:43pm

Is she still performing with her back to the audience for most of the show? Seeing this next week and increasingly dreading going to it. 

[binau]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 6:08pm

I personally didn’t feel she was spending too much time with back to audience but there was also a lot of screen time (felt the same about Dorian Gray too) so I was more fixated on that and her face. Also, the audience gave a big standing ovation at the end and was cheering etc. it didn’t feel they were disappointed. I don’t think you need to DREAD it especially if you’re seeing it next week I think it’ll be in better shape by then. 

I guess the other thing is Dorian Gray felt very satirical of London superficial gay culture to me so felt like it had more to say. This play to me comes across as more being focused on actor show case entertainment, thrill, theatrics, vibes etc. than meaning. 

I 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 6:21pm

Ensemble1670470656 said: "GiantsInTheSky2 said: "“She completed filming onboth WICKED films in January 2024. Both films were shot simultaneously not separately. This was 2 years ago."

There were weeks of reshoots both later in 2024 and 2025, on top of her other professional commitments and appearances. It’s not like she’s been sitting at home doing nothing since January 2024, let’s be real.

We get it, Ensemble, you think not being off book day one rehearsals is unacceptable. We got it. Don’t need to beat a dead horse."

Everyone knows she is a busy lady. As are other professional actors. It's her job and she is experienced enough to know her limits. She booked the playover a year ago and she knew what she signed up for and was aware of her schedule. If she doesn't have the time to learn the lines the producers should have booked at a later date that fits her schedule better or she should have chosen an easier play or just say no.I don't care if she is off book in rehearsals, but it is unacceptable to not know her lines during previews, for a paying audience. Any performance will improvewith time, but with previews at full price, and inflated due to star casting, it's not unreasonable to expect the actor to do the most basic part of the job that is knowing lines.A preview is not a rehearsal, there may be some final tweaks made according to audience reaction, and normal mistakes, but it's still a fully working performance. If an actor in a west end show not as big named as Erivo doesn't have the lines memorized at previews, orin many cases first rehearsal, no matter how many words they have, they will be in trouble with producers/directors."

Yeah, this amount of theatrical outrage is insufferable. Your reaction is ridiculous, one would think you wrote the damn piece.

Seriously, have an edible and relax. It’s vampires in previews.

Updated On: 2/11/26 at 06:21 PM

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 7:32pm

Ensemble1670470656 said: That's what a month of rehearsals are for. If she showed up off book to the first rehearsal she would struggle at first when the technical elements are added but after 4 weeks it should be in good shape for the first preview if she really knows the text. It's ok to fumble one or two lines or have a few technical challenges in a preview, it's not normal for the performer to struggle to remember lines throughout, start the show again from the top even relying on a very visible teleprompter. It's very unlikely that she showed up off book. It's a challenging tech heavy show but from what I hear the tech is running fine and most problems come from her not knowing her lines, which is worse as she is the only performer onstage and the show relies on synchronicity with the recorded video, which is impossible without being very confident on the lines. A lot of people seem to be making excuses for amateur mistakes that they wouldn't for other shows or actors."

That’s quite a collections of assumptions and suspicions you created just to call her an amateur. We all see you.

Updated On: 2/11/26 at 07:32 PM

[Ensemble17701165943]

Posted: 2/11/26 at 9:08pm

Looks like a cool show. 

[jared123]

Posted: 2/12/26 at 5:26am

Jordan Catalano said: "Is she still performing with her back to the audience for most of the show? Seeing this next week and increasingly dreading going to it."

Yep.   Also there is a 7-8 minutes where she is in a set and practically only visible on the movie screen.  

I didnt mind her flubbing lines or being on the teleprompter as much as some.   A lot of the characters felt underperformed,  very rotely read lines that if there wasnt the makeup/hair changes you wouldn't find a major difference.  This is endemic of the filmed material as well, I dont expect this to improve by opening unless they are doing major reshoots after she gets a hang of the characters.  

From looking at pics/reviews, it doesn't seem like it changed much from the Australian production other than switching out the lead for CE.

I do think technically there has been improvements since Dorian and some of the filming is a lot more cinematic.   But still this is a version of dracula with little horror, action, or romance, so its fairly dull. 

[jrb]

Posted: 2/15/26 at 12:37pm

It's been ages since I've posted on here but I felt inspired to add my two cents! 

I saw this last night and have to agree with a lot of what has already been said: it's undercooked, awkwardly staged, and worst of all (the cardinal sin of theater) boring. 

At the risk of being rude/blunt, this could have just as easily been titled, "Cynthia Erivo memorizes a large number of lines and says them back to you in a variety of accents, as quickly as she can".  

This might well have been forgiven to some extent, if the production had iterated, in some interesting way, on what Dorian Gray put forth. Unfortunately, it does no such thing. Oddly enough, it felt at times, like it took deliberate steps backward.

I'll agree that the quality of the videos was improved but their execution felt lazy. Every single one was projected on the same, imposing screen; shifting (now and then) up, down, forward and backward, but never really moving in any way that could be described as, "surprising". I seem to recall Dorian Gray implementing several, smaller screens; creating a framework of visual polyphony. This, coupled with mixed media, puppets, unique angles, etc, kept things fresh. 

There was also a marked lack of color. Granted this is Dracula so dark, moody, and void of color would seem the obvious choice and it was just that - obvious. It lacked any variety and by virtue of this choice, one's eyes began to ache/yearn for something new.

This stiffness and ardent refusal to do anything new bled into Erivo's deliveries which felt stagnant; like literal line readings. Even Dracula - a character begging to bubble and burst in violent eruptions of color, felt just as monochromatic, little-redeemed by the fuchsia wig sloppily tacked to Erivo's head. 

In an attempt to end on a more positive note: one can't deny that this style of staging and the immense amount of concentration it requires to execute, is impressive, and while a 2 hour monologue doesn't afford one much opportunity to feel deep connection with many of its characters, it can, and does, lead to moments of awe. One such moment, counter to it's seeming simplicity (and inevitability), was when Erivo was finally allowed sing. Her voice - imbued with movement, color, and feeling - stood out in such sharp contrast to the rest of the production that one wonders why it wasn't utilized more frequently - perhaps delineating the undead from the living. Alas, the production used no such conceit and wound up feeling like a run-on sentence. :(

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/16/26 at 3:58pm

I’m torn. I love Cynthia Erivo, but I can’t help wondering if she’s taken on more than she can realistically handle here.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/16/26 at 4:15pm

 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 2/16/26 at 4:21pm

Does she do Renfield? How is that?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 1:37pm

I am really fascinated by the social media response to this. While many are (rightfully, in my mind) expressing great frustration at having paid a large sum of money to watch an actor who didn't know her lines, others (i.e. The Sweaty Oracle and everyone in his comments section) are vehemently defending her and decrying the negative social media posts as "racism" - lots of variations on "People are only criticizing her because she's a queer Black woman."

However, we have a long history of straight white men similarly failing to learn their lines on Broadway - Gabriel Byrne, Bruce Willis, and Al Pacino are recent examples - and similarly being lambasted by by critics and audience members. What do you all make of this? I can't help but feel that it's because she is a queer Black woman that anyone is defending her at all, like she is a member of a protected class. Thoughts?

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 2:39pm

“and similarly being lambasted by by critics and audience members”

I recall instances of men’s forgetting of lines or use of ear pieces being acknowledged, but no such “lambasting”. 

[binau]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 3:13pm

I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of live shows and if I think of a kind of ‘razzie’ awards I’d hand out, Cynthia Erivo in Dracula and Elaine Stritch in A Little Night Music would be at the very very bottom of the list (or would that make them at the top?) For professional actors I’ve seen struggle for lines. And I guess given the sheer volume of lines Cynthia would have to be the worst  

I can personally overlook it because watching an actor as high profile as Cynthia try and navigate this was certainly a very interesting theatrical experience that I do not regret spending my money on. And I still enjoyed the work. But I think it’s fair for people to complain about this. 

I can’t help but wonder if people are actually being somewhat forgiving of Cynthia because it is a little uncomfortable to watch and talk about. If this was Hugh Jackman for example I think he’d be laughed and ridiculed endlessly, personally. 

Updated On: 2/17/26 at 03:13 PM

[jpbran]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 3:17pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "“and similarly being lambasted by by critics and audience members”

I recall instances of men’sforgetting of lines or use of ear pieces being acknowledged, but no such “lambasting”."

Bruce Willis was raked over the coals about it, even beyond our little theater bubble. It was literally the only thing my non-theater-following friends had heard about the production when discussing my husband and I seeing it (2016 maybe?)

Updated On: 2/17/26 at 03:17 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 3:22pm

If Erivo is struggling with lines now, that means she was certainly struggling even worse during rehearsals, tech, and final dress. The production would've been served by delaying performances, not by putting an undercooked production in front of paying audiences. 

[binau]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 3:45pm

Kad said: "If Erivo is struggling with lines now, that means she was certainly struggling even worse during rehearsals, tech, and final dress. The production would've been served by delaying performances, not by putting an undercooked production in front of paying audiences."

They did! They cancelled the first 3 performances, which started the mess because people were then 'blamed' for going to the 'first preview' but they never bought for a first preview really. 

Perhaps they should have delayed further and/or the opening too, I'm surprised they didn't delay opening night at least I'm pretty sure I've seen it happen in NYC before at least so it's not unheard of. 

Updated On: 2/17/26 at 03:45 PM

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 4:20pm

Bruce Willis was indeed lambasted while in Misery, online and in the press. It's sad to think it was maybe the beginning of his dementia. Al Pacino was also written about in the press about his earpiece in China Doll. 

Both rightly, in my mind. While Erivo has the harder task, it's also the only thing you're going to see in Dracula. For me, an actor needing help navigating a role is understandable but keeping the audience's money for an unprepared show isn't.  

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 4:23pm

I've said it before, but in a show like this you not only have to know the actual words, to some extent you have to say them at the exact rhythm or timing required to meet the cues driven by the videos.  Even being off a few seconds means you could be talking on top of a recorded you ... as some people have reported happening.

You don't really get any space to recall a line as one might receive in a typical play and there isn't a conductor adjusting the orchestra's tempo if you happen to come in hot one night.  That's a level of precision that strikes me as not having many parallels in an actor's career. 

I think that deserves a bit of grace being extended, but understand people find that difficult to do when the prices are so high, the expectations were ramped up so much, and some performances included many errors/resets/rote characterizations. 

Also, I don't recall this being an issue for Snook (I saw a third preview in London), so for some small percentage of folks that might also be in play here.

 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 4:44pm

I feel like if everything gets smoothed out it still leaves the question of what is this all for? From what I'm reading is that in even in moments where she hits her stride there doesn't seem to be much there to latch onto. Is the prize the work itself even if it doesn't create an enthralling experience? I think Cynthia Erivo playing Dracula could be fun, but compounding with all these other things and her workload for the sake of it makes that not fun. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/17/26 at 5:22pm

Speaking of Sarah Snook, she had a 3 month run of Dorian Gray in London then subsequently was given 15 previews over 17 days to open the show on Broadway. Cynthia Erivo will open Dracula after 10 previews over 11 days. So, why does the well-prepared Sarah Snook get so many Broadway previews having done a three month run in London?
I suspect all of this has nothing to do with line memorization. It is not only the result of the complicated tech, but the people running the tech also being new to the show. Everyone has to be on the same page for this to work. If you’re blaming Erivo for any of the normal issues they’ve been navigating, it’s because you have no understanding or experience with the process.