Dracula Review

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 4:30pm

Sorry guys, I know it has opened already and almost everyone is sick of talking about it, but I am writing a review for my school's newspaper and I wanted to know what you thought of the writing of it, sorry again, and thanks for bearing with me :)

Dracula, The Musical

‘Dracula’ is the newest musical to take a bite out of Broadway this season.
This show has taken a long journey to get to the great white way, the famous
bloodsucker originally took his first bow in 2001 at the La Jolla Playhouse,
where other hit shows also premiered such as the Tony winner ‘Throroughly Modern
Mille’. With almost nine different drafts ‘Dracula’ finally made it to broadway. Apparently three years and nine drafts are not enough for Don Black and Christopher Hampton
(book and lyrics). For example, the insepereable duo who brought audiences ‘Sunset Boulevard’ now give us “priceless” lines such as, “Fresh Blood on my pillow/ Don’t call
it a sin/ A fresh peccadillo/ Two punctures in the skin.” Along with the lyrics, Hampton
and Black gave Dracula and Mina almost no time to fall in love and decided to use Bram Stoker’s classic novel as a mere reference.
Luckily, Frank Wildhorn has graced the show with haunting tunes and chilling ballads, like “The Mist” and “Forever Young”. Wildhorn, who has previously written scores for shows that range from 'Jekyll and Hyde' to 'The Scarlet Pimpernel, experiments with a different approch to his music to make the show more intimate and scary.
Tom Hewitt as the infamous count is stunning and seductive, his voice blows everyone to the back of the theatre. Melissa Errico, Mina, tries her best with Wildhorn’s challenging tunes, but in this show she can only dazzle you with her beauty and acting.
Two standout performances from Kelli O’Hara (Lucy) and Don Stephenson (Renfield)
give some energy and excitment to the show.
To guise the misfortune of a bad book, Des McAnuff (drector) fascinated the audience with the supreme scenery and effects. Vampires fly all over, Dracula transforms from old to young in split seconds, and much more.
Dracula can appear to be overdone, but if you can bear bad lyrics you should
have a fun time. I walked out of the Belasco Theatre thorougly contented and entertained, as did others considering the show received an early standing ovation. I am certain ‘Dracula’ will either seduce you with it’s exciting effects, brilliant talent, and lingering music or bore you with a dreadful book and and even more frieghtning lyrics. B -ZH Updated On: 9/29/04 at 04:30 PM

[Chloe]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 6:16pm

I haven't seen the show, so my reaction is strictly based on your writing. I think you did a good job of conveying your thoughts, though your teacher will have some punctuation and spelling corrections to make. Also, I have a prejudice against using "gift" as a verb, but that may just be me.

The main thing is you got across what you liked and didn't like, and something of what to expect for those who might be thinking of seeing it.

[TGIF]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 6:30pm

I really liked it, and you were very truthful and honest without being harsh. And I really agree with what you said.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 10:10pm

Thanks for your comments! Sorry the paragraphing is really strange (it got all messed up when I used copy and paste). I changed gifted to graced, I hope that works better! Thank you again!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 10:51pm

lol and also about the spelling and grammer mistakes, please ignore them, I posted my unrevised copy by accident Sorry about that

[capnkidd]

Posted: 9/30/04 at 5:08pm

nice work kiddo...you wrote your own review without listening to others.One tiny error-the lyric is "a mere peccadillo"-but you did better than howard kissel of the daily news,who attributed the actions of one character(lucy,a blond)to another,(mina,the brunette).
good luck-keep up the good work...

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 9/30/04 at 5:32pm

thats a great review! Very well thought out and very true to the musical, pointing out its short comings as well as what it does right. Now if only Ben Brantley had actually taken the time to write out a well thought out review like yours!