Classic Stage Company’s Dracula—A Feminist Adaptation

I love a good stage adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel, Dracula. After all, Stoker worked in theater for much of his life, and always intended for his charismatic Count to take the stage. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing a particularly unique performance of Dracula adapted by Kate Hamill for the Classic Stage Company in New York City. Hamill makes significant revisions to the source material in order to transform Dracula into a feminist revenge fantasy by centering the female characters and confronting the sexism in Stoker’s original.

How do you make Dracula into a feminist tale of empowerment? Well the first thing you do is position Mina Harker as the story’s hero rather than Jonathan. Mina is already one of the most interesting characters in the book—she blends modern independence with traditional ideals of femininity and serves as the glue connecting all of the other characters together through her friendship with Lucy. In Stoker’s text, Mina spends much of the latter half of the story partially incapacitated by Dracula’s attacks, though she still manages to play an active role in helping the men track down and kill the vampire. In Hamill’s play, the roles of Mina and Jonathan are reversed: Jonathan is bitten instead of his wife and falls under Dracula’s mental control. Meanwhile, Mina is taken under Van Helsing’s wing and tasked with defeating the vampires. And in a particularly interesting choice, Mina is portrayed as pregnant for the entire duration of the play, sending the added feminist message that women do not become useless or excessively delicate while gestating a child and that motherhood does not mean giving up adventures or heroics.

Of course, if this is feminism we’re talking about, then the real enemy isn’t vampires—it’s the patriarchy. In Hamill’s adaptation, Count Dracula’s role as a paternal figure is emphasized. The victims and fellow vampires under his sway refer to Dracula as “Father” or “Daddy,” and bow to his parental authority. Renfield, in particular, (who in this play is a woman) describes being Dracula’s thrall as being like a child carried in her father’s arms, feeling safe and content to give up control. Dracula is also conflated with the patriarchy of the Church, and his followers recite a bastardization of the Lord’s Prayer that positions their vampire master as “Our Father, who art of earth, in earth, and by earth.” Dracula uses the female character’s frustration with the patriarchy against them, promising them strength, independence, and freedom from other men’s control. But the women who give into his temptation only substitute one male authority figure for another. Count Dracula isn’t the only representation of the patriarchy in this adaptation. Lucy’s suitor, Dr. Seward, is portrayed as particularly paternalistic, encouraging the women to be passive and silent and insisting that he knows best. It is only after his arrogance leads to Lucy’s death that Seward recognizes his error and redeems himself in the second half of the play.

But as much as I loved the feminist message of the show, I think I loved the costuming even more! Each character (except for Van Helsing) was dressed strikingly in all white, from Mina’s flowing gown to Dracula’s dandy-ish suit. During fight scenes and vampiric attacks, blood was represented by red rhinestones and ribbons, which were cleverly revealed by tear-away panels or subtly slipped out from a sleeve. Dracula’s constant connection to blood is hinted at with his pointed red boots, and dramatic eyeliner completes the look, giving him an appropriately gothic flair. Then there’s Van Helsing (another gender-bent role), who looks like she stepped out of a Western movie, wide-brimmed hat and all, with long scars covering half her face. Her dark clothing sets her apart from the rest of the cast, symbolizing her outsider status—which in this case involves being outside of the patriarchal system in which the other characters find themselves trapped. I love it when the costuming tells its own story!

While Kate Hamill certainly takes some creative license with the original text, Classic Stage Company’s Dracula is a fresh take on the tale that is worth seeing. The production is running through March 8, and you can find tickets here. If you get the chance to see it, be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!