Roxy’s Downtown plays the ‘Dracula’ legend for laughs

Roxy’s Downtown is using the slogan “It’s unorthodox” to advertise its newest production: “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors.”

That goes for not only a comic spin on the age-old vampire tale, but the rehearsal process.

Roxy’s artistic director Rick Bumgardner said he asked his cast to memorize the script and skipped the blocking process by sending all five cast members his director’s notes before the first rehearsal.

“They came in ready,” he said. “We’ve had great fun putting it together.”

As a result, cast members are bouncing ideas off each other during rehearsals

“The stupider we can make it the more fun the audience is going to have with it.,” Bumgardner said of “Dracula,” which opens next week and continues through Oct. 12.

Bumgardner said he read the script just before he saw “Comedy of Terrors,” which opened off-Broadway a year ago.

“I thought it was one of the funniest things I had read in a really, really long time,” he said.

Among the humor is jokes that play around with the 1897-time frame, including references to the virtual assistant Siri.

“I loved the juxtaposition of then versus now,” Bumgardner said.

Bumgardner said the farce is similar to comedies such as “Noises Off,” “The Mystery of Irma Vep” and “Greater Tuna,” for its fast pace and quick-change costumes. Four of the five performers in the show play more than one character, he said, with one playing nine roles.

“It requires the theater to pull out every imaginable trick that we have in our arsenal to make this thing work,” he said.

For the title role, Bumgardner cast Zeke Thompson, a veteran of Roxy’s and Forum Theatre productions, to make the Dracula one who does a runway walk in leather pants as he makes his entrance.

Bumgardner said he’s enjoyed collaborating with the cast.

“I haven’t had this much fun directing a show for a long, long time. We are continually laughing at the new things we’re coming up with,” he said. “It’s just been a joy.”

‘DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS’

When: Sept. 25 to Oct. 12; performances at 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 5 and 12

Where: Roxy’s Downtown, 412 ½ E. Douglas

Tickets: $42 from 316-265-4400 or roxysdowntown.com