PBT dancers give 'Dracula' some bite
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Elysa Hotchkiss is Flora and Stephen Hadala is Dracula in one of the performances of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's "Dracula."
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A lot has happened since Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre last presented "Dracula" in 2004. In the meantime, the count from Wallachia has been challenged (at least temporarily) by a more romantic and sensitive Edward of "Twilight" fame.
No matter -- it seems that people can't get enough of vampires.
But it appears that PBT has had enough of its orchestra. For the first time in four presentations since the ballet premiered here in 1997, the company elected to go with a recorded accompaniment. But the score by John Lanchberry, inspired by the luscious abandon of composer Franz Liszt and which sounds far better live, had too many key musical segments that simply faded away. Friday night's enthusiastic audience was left without a cue as to when to applaud. And being without a conductor to smooth transitions left the production with awkward gaps, sapping energy away from the full impact of the ballet.
But then, this was always a flawed dynamo of a production. Houston Ballet's now-retired Ben Stevenson was, for a time, the only choreographer who put his own contemporary lens on traditional full-length ballets. Recognizing his ability, PBT brought in "Cinderella," then co-produced "Dracula" and "Cleopatra" with the Texas company.
"Dracula" could be seen as a Cliff Notes version of the Bram Stoker tale, tapping the most recognizable images of the familiar story and transferring them to the stage -- a foggy crypt with the ubiquitous flying vampire and his bevy of brides, a peasant village with a careening stagecoach driven by a crazed, flailing Renfield and, in a diversion, the sprawling castle bedroom, where Dracula's spectacular fate is sealed with the help of a giant chandelier and, of course, some very large windows.
As with his other ballets, the strength of Mr. Stevenson's "Dracula" is in the production values, his vision bolstered by Thomas Boyd's brooding scenic design and Judanna Lynn's costumes.
First Published February 14, 2011 12:00 am
