Before vampires were sparkly and swiping right, there was Count Dracula—the OG bad boyfriend, equal parts gaslighter, stalker, and walking HR violation. Bram Stoker’s caped wonder isn’t just a monster, he’s the ultimate workplace hazard: Biting subordinates, preying on clients, and leaving a trail of unpaid sick leave in his wake. Theatre on the Road’s “Dracula”—now in its 27th year—knows that the Count’s story is less about Gothic castles than it is about power, obsession, and the kind of HR mess that keeps lawyers billing by the hour. Which is why this season, the company is flipping the script in performances across the region October 2-25.
For the uninitiated, Stoker’s bloodsucker arrives in 1920s England and sets his sights on Lucy, who develops an illness that baffles her father (a sanatorium director) and fiance (an earnest solicitor). Enter Professor Van Helsing, the unconventional detective who realizes the culprit isn’t germs but fangs. Add in the deranged servant Renfield and a few strategically timed garlic cloves, and you’ve got the eternal battle of good versus evil, with capes.
The hook this year? Van Helsing—usually a tweedy old man with a monocle and a knack for exposition—is played by Michelle Kafel-Cintron. She brings a forceful female perspective to the role, reframing the famed vampire-hunter as less pipe-smoking patriarch and more badass problem-solver. Meanwhile, Renfield, traditionally male, is now a woman—Marisa Gorsline—whose take on the character teases out the modern contours of narcissism and codependency. Instead of being Dracula’s “yes man,” Renfield becomes his trauma-bonded “yes ma’am.” Consider it a gender-flipped experiment in stress-testing Dracula’s eternal toxicity.
Another new wrinkle: music. No, not a “Dracula: The Musical” (though someone, somewhere is writing that as we speak). Instead, the production uses subtle soundtracking—classical works and 1920s period pieces woven under the dialogue—to heighten dread and deepen atmosphere. Think less Broadway overture, more Nosferatu with a Spotify playlist.
Of course, beneath the bloodsucking, “Dracula” remains about something bigger: unchecked power and how communities respond to it. A hundred years after Stoker’s tale, the themes still bite: authoritarian figures cloaked in charisma, institutions too slow to respond, ordinary people called upon to unite. It’s no wonder the Count keeps coming back; we’re still living in his long shadow.
And speaking of shadows: this “Dracula” production moves through some of the Hudson Valley’s most atmospheric venues, including the Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale (October 2–5), the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon (October 10–11), and the Tarrytown Music Hall (October 13). Later stops include the Stissing Center in Pine Plains (October 17) and the Milford Theater in Pennsylvania (October 25).
So if you’re craving some October frights without resorting to a haunted hayride, here’s your chance to revisit the workplace nightmare that started it all. Bring garlic. And maybe your HR rep.
