REVIEW: It’s time to dream with ‘Dracula’ and his friends
Photo: Dreams of Dracula: An Immersive Masquerade Experience has taken over Midtown Manhattan. Photo courtesy of Never More Immersive / Provided by MCPR with permission.
Dreams of Dracula: An Immersive Masquerade Experience, written and directed by Jonathan Albert and Nicole Coady, has set up shop on the second floor of Musica NYC, a live music venue on the Westside of Midtown Manhattan. Within these darkened hallways and tucked-away corners audience members will find an unparalleled theatrical experience steeped in gothic tropes and bloody kisses. Actors bring to life the tale of Dracula, but they also dive into other characters and histories, including Oscar Wilde, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron and Bram Stoker himself. Not unlike Sleep No More, the mega-hit immersive play located farther south in Manhattan, these Dreams are captivating and unsettling, and being that patrons get to choose their own adventure, the experience is unique to each person and each performance.
Some of the intricacies of Dreams of Dracula are best kept a secret in order to maximize enjoyment, but here are a few devil-in-the-details to whet the palate.
VIP patrons are separated from general admission patrons as soon as they enter Musica NYC. Each group is given its own decorative mask — a face covering that feels very Carnevale and Venetian — and eventually audience members find themselves in a salon presided over by the bon vivant Oscar Wilde, who charms the crowd and sets the mood for the evening. It’s best to have a seat on the comfy couches and watch the floor show, no doubt using that mask as a means of feeling protected from the shadowy depths of this strange, Kubrickian environment.
After a few minutes, this reviewer was taken, hand in hand, by an actor portraying Bram Stoker, the original scribe of Dracula. What transpired behind closed doors for the next few minutes was peaceful and simultaneously off-putting, a combination of a séancé and therapy session. Speaking of therapy, Sigmund Freud turns up, as do other writers besides Stoker. That’s one of the positives of this most literary of evenings: The plot and characters extend far beyond the blood-sucking vampires of the Dracula story.
After these early intimations and invitations, audience members are invited to explore the several rooms of the masquerade, with most of the narrative taking place on the second floor. That’s where the Dracula story comes to life with spirited choreography (courtesy of Arianne Meneses) and slow, hypnotizing movement around the Musica space. There’s a bedroom, a gravesite and an extended bar that serves as a horizontal performance space. The level of detail in the surroundings helps the audience feel transported to another time period and far-flung setting, although perhaps some more furniture and scenic design could be added to gather the full effect that this immersive experience demands.
The acting is enjoyable and characteristically atmospheric, with long stares into the distance and more than a few come-hither glances. For the most part, the actors keep the boundary with the audience, although on a few occasions a gentle hand is extended in order for patrons to follow the action in a different room.
The entire experience takes one hour, although Dreams of Dracula has multiple tracks each night, and VIP ticket holders can stay for an even longer (and bloodier) good time. An expansive bar in Oscar Wilde’s Salon allows for some imbibing in order to enjoy the horrors of the night.
Dreams of Dracula will undoubtedly be compared to Sleep No More, which continues to be the standard-bearer for this kind of entertainment. That’s an unfair comparison because this new show at Musica NYC is a different and more intimate affair. It’s better not to compare and instead treat Dreams of Dracula as a Halloween-inspired diversion during these spooky days of October. The experience, which is best enjoyed when one goes with the flow, is meant to allow literary fans the chance to jump into the pages of this iconic novel and consider the musings of Stoker’s contemporaries from 100-plus years ago. If it’s not earth-shattering, at least it’s enjoyable and eerie, and that’s perfectly fitting for this seasonal time of blood, gore and murderous intent.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Dreams of Dracula: An Immersive Masquerade Experience plays through Nov. 11 at Musica NYC in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
