The House of Besarab

The House of Besarab At the Hollywood American Legion Post 43 Reviewed by Brad Schreiber November 25, 2009 The pop-culture plague of vampiric films and TV morphs into a refreshing stage presentation, as theatergoers are invited to the sumptuous confines of the Hollywood American Legion for this take on the legend of Dracula. The infamous Transylvanian count (Michael Hegedus) has lured to his castle not only the audiences, who walk through five rooms, but also his soul mate Mina (Chase McKenna), Dr. Seward (Terra Shelman), vampire expert Dr. Van Helsing (Travis Michael Holder), and Mina's mortal fiancé, Harker (Dane Bowman), who is bent on making a point, right in Dracula's heart. But Renfield (David Himes) gives the guests laudanum, and before this fun fever dream of a production is over, we have witnessed—or heard about from fellow audience members who were in other rooms—unnatural birth, whippings, and sordid confessions. "The House of Besarab," adapted by Theodore Ott and director Terance Duddy, has slimmed down the cast size, scene lengths, and number of interior locations that marked the long-running 1980s hit "Tamara" in this building. This enables one to glean much of the plot without having to come back numerous times. Although there is a bit too much concentration in dialogue on the "devil's spawn" element of the tale, Ott and Duddy make nice comments on moral relativism, especially when Dracula condemns the two doctors for refusing to come over to the dark side while robbing graves for their own medical experiments. Hegedus is marvelously imperious and elegantly creepy, and McKenna imbues the love-torn Mina with great humanity and suffering. The scene in which they kiss and she is bitten is a perfect blend of the erotic, romantic, and gothic. Holder is also tops as the effete but appropriately wary Van Helsing. Alas, not all the cast members feel as committed, with Himes' Renfield wavering and only occasionally stooped over and Bowman's heroic Harker rather bland. An extended sword fight between Dracula and Harker is not credited to a fight choreographer, and it shows. Still, this Egyptian Revival–Moroccan deco setting is marvelous, and there are nicely droll bits of humor here and there, especially during the intermission, when audience members, imbibing and snacking, might pick up the strains of Jim Croce's song "Time in a Bottle." Presented by and at the Hollywood American Legion Post 43, 2035 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. Nov. 12–Dec. 20. Fri.–Sat., 9 p.m.; Sun., 8 p.m. (323) 960-7612. www.plays411.com/besarab. Editor's note: Travis Michael Holder reviews for Back Stage.
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