Act I, Prologue
Jonathan Harker’s mind is flooded with images of his terrifying experience in Transylvania…in his delirium his ravings have been dreadful – of wolves and poison and blood,
of ghosts and demons…
Act I, Scene 1: The Woods Charing Cross Station, London
Mina and Dr. Van Helsing accompany Harker to the station as he sets off on his journey to see Count Dracula in Transylvania, where he is to conduct the Count’s purchase of
properties in England. A mental patient, Renfield, being escorted through the station, causes a disturbing incident.
Act I, Scene 2: Transylvania
Harker arrives in Transylvania, where he watches as villagers enact a violent ritual of sacrifice to protect their village from the dangers that threaten on All Souls Night. The ceremony is
interrupted by a sinister figure, Count Dracula’s coachman. Despite the desperate appeal of a bereaved woman, Harker continues his journey to Dracula’s castle.
Act I, Scene 3: Count Dracula’s Castle
The Count welcomes Harker into his home and, having made him comfortable, withdraws. Harker sinks into a reverie and is visited by three women who both fascinate and terrify him. His
seduction is interrupted by an enraged Count Dracula who distracts the vampire women with a live blood offering. Count Dracula now begins his domination of the helpless Harker. As the climax
of their union approaches, Harker’s scream of terror wakes him from his nightmare, and he finds himself in the sanatorium with his wife’s arms around him.
20 minute intermission
Act II, Scene 1: Winter Garden at the Grand Hotel in Whitby
At a Tea Dance in the Grand Hotel, Mina’s friend Lucy dances with her suitors, while unbeknownst to them, a Russian ship approaches with a sinister and dangerous cargo. Only Harker is
sensitive to the impending danger. A violent storm interrupts the dance, breaking open the windows, and at the height of its fury, the figure of Count Dracula appears on the terrace. The
hotel guests are unaware of his presence, but Lucy is drawn to him. As the sound of the storm returns, Count Dracula disappears and Lucy is discovered dazed and almost unconscious.
Act II, Scene 2: The Sanatorium
Lucy is taken to Dr. Van Helsing’s clinic, where her anxious fiancé and her friends visit her. As they leave for the night, Van Helsing, who has noticed the strange puncture
marks on Lucy’s neck, takes the precaution of surrounding her with wild garlic. This does not prevent a second visit from Count Dracula. Later that night, Lucy’s body is
discovered on the floor of her bedroom. The heartbroken men grieve over the loss of this beautiful young woman. As her fiancé places a crucifix on her lips, Lucy attacks him violently
before escaping into the night. She has become Nosferatu, one of the undead.
20 minute intermission
Act III, Scene 1: Mina’s Room
Mina, alone in the sanatorium, thinks of the terrible danger that is hovering over them all. After the departure of the men she and Van Helsing are startled by the escaped mental patient,
Renfield, who attacks Van Helsing and draws blood before being overpowered by the wardens. Concerned for Renfield’s suffering, Mina tries in vain to comfort and understand him. As she
waits anxiously for the return of the men, she imagines with horror what her friend Lucy has become.
The men fail in their attempt to find Count Dracula, but later that night, as Harker sleeps, the Count enters Mina’s room. Van Helsing discovers them as Count Dracula suckles Mina with
his own lifeblood. Van Helsing has no power to prevent the Count from escaping and taking an unconscious Mina with him.
Count Dracula has chosen to celebrate his union with Mina in the vault at Carfax Abbey. His heart-beat is the pulse that summons the Nosferatu to the ceremony. Renfield has become the
sacrifice, and it is his blood that links the undead as they dance in adoration of their master. As the celebrants prepare for the consummation of the ritual, an explosion blasts through the
crypt and daylight floods into the vault. Count Dracula can withstand the light but his power is diminished and his adversaries pursue him, finally driving a stake through his heart. The
survivors are left to come to terms with their experience of this collaborative project that required an open mind, an open heart, a fantastical spirit and an unrestrained imagination.
