Dracula is a play by Hamilton Deane from 1924, based on the novel of the same name by Bram Stoker , and was fundamentally revised in 1927 by John L. Balderston . The play was the first adaptation of the famous vampire novel that was authorized by Stoker's widow.
In the production of the original version, Raymond Huntley played the role of Dracula . Deane originally planned to play the title role himself, but ultimately chose to play the Van Helsing part . The piece toured England successfully for three years before coming to London .
In 1927 the piece was brought to the United States on Broadway by the producer Horace Liveright . He hired John L. Balderston to revise the piece for the American audience. In the edited US-American production, the Hungarian-born actor Bela Lugosi played Count Dracula in his first English-speaking leading role at the side of Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing . Both actors played their roles again in the 1931 film adaptation of the Deane Balderston play by Tod Browning .
In order to streamline the plot as much as possible, numerous characters have been cut or rewritten. For example, the roles of Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray were combined into a single character named Lucy Seward . Dr. Seward was remodeled by Lucy's admirer to be her father, and the roles of Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood were eliminated entirely.
In 1977 Dracula was re-performed under the direction of Dennis Rosa . The sets and costumes were designed by Edward Gorey and the title role was played by Frank Langella , who, like Lugosi at the time, also played the role in John Badham's 1979 film version . The play won the Tony Award in the categories Best Revival and Best Costume Design and received further nominations in the categories Best Set Design and Best Actor (Langella). Subsequent cast of the title role on Broadway included David Dukes , Raúl Juliá and Jean LeClerk . In the London production played Terence Stamp to Count Dracula and US touring productions were Martin Landau and Jeremy Brett to see.
1978: Tony Award for the best costume design (Edward Gorey) of a stage play.
Nominations
1978: Tony Award for Best Actor (Frank Langella) in a stage play.
1978: Tony Award for Best Stage Design (Edward Gorey) in a play.
Deviations from the literary original
Deanes original production
When Lucy is introduced, her last name is Westera instead of Westenra.
The play begins after Mina's death, which is mentioned but never shown.
The character Quincey Morris has been rewritten as a woman.
Balderstons edited production
The characters Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris have been deleted.
Dr. Seward is now Lucy's father instead of her admirer. He runs an asylum for the insane outside London.
Harker's first name was shortened from Jonathan to John and in his place Renfield travels to Transylvania, which can only be learned from the story of the plot, as the count already lives in London at the beginning of the play.
A new character, Lucy's maid, was introduced.
Harker and Lucy are not married.
Dracula hides in a vaulted cellar under Dr. Seward's property instead of the neighboring Carfax Abbey.
The Count is staked by Harker instead of Morris after Van Helsing tricked Renfield into betraying the hiding place of Dracula's coffin.
Renfield, unlike the novel, survived.
literature
Bram Stoker: Dracula . German by Karl Bruno Leder. Insel, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 2004, ISBN 3-458-34803-4
Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston: Dracula: The Vampire Play in 3 Acts . Nelson, Doubleday, Garden City 1971
