Dracula

DRACULA: A feminist revenge fantasy, really

September 30 - October 23, 2022

ALL CLOSING WEEKEND PERFORMANCES ARE SOLD OUT!

Based on the novel by Bram Stoker

By Kate Hamill

Directed by Michelle Aguillon

Run time: 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission

Season Subscription Packages
 

“One of this Fall’s 10 Shows to See” – Don Aucoin, The Boston Globe

"Top Boston Theater Picks for October" -- Broadway World Boston 

"Action-packed, funny, scary and perfect for the Halloween month" - Tom Boudrot, New England Theater Mirror

"Abundantly clever...a rip-roaring production" -- Michael Dale, Broadway World 

One hundred and twenty five years after its publication, Bram Stoker’s Dracula still looms large, thrilled to and interpreted by each generation in turn.

And now, in a bold new adaptation, award-winning playwright-actor Kate Hamill sinks her teeth into the seductive tale and its patriarchal take on the modern woman. One of the most produced playwrights in America for 3 years running, Hamill has been deliberate about creating feminist, female-centered classics – whether in new stories or adaptations of such works as Emma, Sense & Sensibility, Little Women and The Scarlet Letter. In Dracula, she wryly confronts the sexism in Stoker's classic, turning it into "a feminist revenge fantasy, really," full of colorful characters for our times. 

You’re in for a fun, fearless ride when the Count meets his match – and the #MeToo movement – in this fast-paced, theatrical tour de force.

"The script, which Hamill labels 'A bit of a feminist revenge fantasy, really' is fun. Yet it is also fearless, and not in the Cosmo way." -- Alexis Soloski, New York Times  

Season Subscription Packages
 

COVID POLICY: In keeping with union regulations protecting the performers, facemasks will be required for performances inside the Black Box Theater. Effective Sep. 7, 2022 until further notice.

CONTENT WARNINGS: This play contains sexual situations, violence, and suicide - may not be appropriate for persons under 16 years old. This production uses strobe light effects and fog effects.

• Media Release: Kate Hamill's Edgy, Feminist Take on Dracula Opens Umbrella Season
• Boston Globe "Stages" Feature by Terry Byrne: A Feminist Take on ‘Dracula’ that Bites Back
• New England Theater Mirror: Gothic Horror & Humor in the “#Me Too” Age at The Umbrella Arts Center
• The New England Theatre Geek: Hurt Me, Daddy: “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really”
• Bedford Citizen: ReVAMPed Dracula Opens The Umbrella Stage Company’s 2022-23 Season
• Playbill: Dracula

Our 2022-2023 season, was created in collaboration with members of The Umbrella Stage family, including Board, Staff, Directors, Designers, and Performers. We would like to extend our deepest thanks for their time, insights, and perspectives. 

SPOTLIGHT ON DRACULA

TELEVISION: Four new vampire TV shows make their debut this fall. Click here for a round up of currently streaming shows you can take a bite out of, or spend your weekend binge-watching old epsiodes of Buffy!

LITERATURE: The Umbrella is proud to partner this season with our friends at The Concord Bookshop. For each show this season they’ll be recommending some related titles to add to your reading list and enhance your theater-going experience. Want to start reading now? The links below will bring you directly to The Concord Bookshop website where you can order your selected title and support your local business community.

• Dracula: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Paperback) 
  The acclaimed Couture Classics with cover designs by Ruben Toledo have become collector's items in the worlds of literature, fashion, design, and popular culture.
• Whose Story Is This?: Old Conflicts, New Chapters (Paperback) 
  New feminist essays for the #MeToo era from the international best-selling author of Men Explain Things to Me.
• We Should All Be Feminists (Paperback) 
  The highly acclaimed, provocative essay on feminism and sexual politics—from the award-winning author of Americanah

FILM: In a twist from 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula starring Keanu Reeves, modern Dracula retellings have delved into this supernatural tale and turned the concept of the femme fatal on its head. Check out 2020's Dracula from Netflix, in which Dracula comes up against generations of the Van Helsing women.

SPOTLIGHT ON KATE HAMILL

INTERVIEW: "Sick of seeing sidelined heroines, these playwrights are rewriting classics like ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Dracula’ to reinvent the female characters".
Kate Hamill & Laura Gunderson interviewed for The Lily by Rebecca J. Ritzel

INTERVIEW: "A Dracula for the Age of MeToo"
Kate Hamill interviewed for The New Yorker by Maya Phillips