Hear ye, hear ye! Announcing...

A new version of Dracula, The Musical will have its US premiere at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre in West Windsor, New Jersey, 20-31 October 2006. The non-equity staging is presented by Cheng/Ferrara Productions and the Kelsey Theatre. It will include songs not heard in the Broadway production, and have new orchestrations by Nicholas Cheng (Frank's assistant). Frank himself will be directly involved in the development of the production, and will lead a master class following the matinee performance on Sunday 22 October. The show will be directed by Frank Ferrara and choreographed by Jillian Potash. Auditions will be held on 5 and 6 August. Further details and links are available at http://FrankWildhorn.com

All the best,
Peter

Awesome! I wish this didn't conflict so strongly with my Rocky Horror performances. I did a production of Jekyll & Hyde around Halloween last year too... I guess its a popular time for Wildhorn shows.

Does this mean the stock / amateur rights will become available?

One reason for doing this particular production is to see if, and how, the show can be done by a community level theater. Nick's reorchestrations for 9 pieces, for example, brings the number down from 40+ that were used in Switzerland (and would be impossible for most amateur groups). If this works, it's likely that amateur rights will follow.

See, this is something that "Dance of the Vampires" and "Lestat" DON'T have, a second chance. Although, the original D.O.T.V. will NOW be a major motion picture directed by Roman Polanski :D

As for "Dracula", I wish it all the success in the world. "One More Lonely Night" is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in my life

I agree. You got me going, and I've been listening to that song obsessively.

That's fantastic news! The amateur Jekyll and Hyde is picking up momentum over here in Australia, I hope it will become a staple for community theatre soon, and I think Dracula would be fantastic in the more intimate form of community theatre. I wish it all the best luck!

David Weitzer has been cast as Dracula! He sent me an email yesterday and told me the good news (he's an awesome guy) :D Today he was rehearsing at Frank's apartment :blink: Although Frank wasn't there, he said he's met him several times. :)

Great for David. He is indeed a talented guy. I was talking to Nick Cheng about this just a few weeks ago at " Seduction of Sheila Valentine" at Lenape PAC, NJ. ( Nick was playing keyboards). He is very excited to be part of this, as is Frank .

I'm hoping to attend, as well, to see how this plays out with the potential of releasing the rights for others.

That is great news! :D He's very talented. I loved his portrayal of Jekyll and Hyde.
If I'm lucky, I'll get to go. I'm still in the process of convincing a parental unit to take me.

Not to be confrontational, but all of the original music and costumes from "Lestat" were purchased by a foreign company. No one knows what they intend to do with it, but I say that it DOES have a second chance. The original San Fransisco script and music were superb and I hope that it is somehow ressurected in the near future.

My personal wish is: Warner Bros. forgets about the whole thing and gets on with BATMAN like they should have done the whole time. Seriously, listen to the demo's Steinman has shown his fans. In my opinion, it blows anything from Lestat so far out of the water you'd forget the sea ever existed :blink:

Well, my personal wish is that Warner Bros. stays far, far away from broadway for a little while.

Yes, I agree. There are still other avenues to explore with the Batman project ;)

I think "Dracula" would have more scope than "Lestat" as a general theatre piece, presuming it ever reaches amateur-rights status (and this seems doubtful). "Dracula" is such a well-known piece, part of Western culture, I suppose, whereas "Lestat" is based on a more recent cult piece of fiction.

Haven't heard anything from "Batman": to tell the truth, I know nothing about Batman anyway, so you haven't quite hooked me yet, Ryan :P But keep working at it.

I agree with you... I mean honestly... as much as it broke my heart to see "Lestat" close, after the movies Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned, WB should have laid off Anne Rice adaptations.

PHOTOS FOR THE NEW PRODUCTION OF DRACULA!


CLICK HERE FOR DRACULA PHOTOS

Love the photos! :D Thanks for the link!

Are you going to see it?

The production's website is http://Chengferrara.org

There are cast photos, bios, and performance dates... as well as plenty of other information. We are all very proud of our production and hope you can come out and support us. :)

Enjoy!

-Michaela

I'm seeing it this Saturday!! :D :D :D

Is anyone else going?

So how did it go?

I've been reading reviews on BWW, and other sites, but nothing too detailed. And what did Frank have to say @ the Master Class?

I thought it was a wonderful production, though there were a few areas that could have been tightened up a bit. The actors each gave strong performances, and their singing was beautiful. David Weitzer was captivating in his role as Dracula, and quickly made the song "Life After Life" a favorite of mine.

The three Vampire Girls were present during Lucy's wedding and funeral. They appeared to be normal women. But, towards the end of both scenes, they opened their mouths and revealed their fangs. They hissed and leered at Mina, seemingly mocking her. It made those scenes seem like dreams that were being twisted into nightmares. It raised the creepiness, that's for sure! :D

I wanted to write a full synopsis of the show, but I wasn't sure if that would be allowed. If anyone wants to know more, PM me. :)