When it comes to things that go bump in the night, you can’t beat the bump of a vampire’s coffin lid for the ultimate in “eeeek.”

So on October 25, Peters Township High School will trot out the original and still champion fanged fanatic to give local audiences a little taste (ouch!) of the undead.

“Dracula,” a play in three acts by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, will be presented for a three-night stand that director Barry N. Wood promises will be a Halloween treat for all who attend.
“It’s like, ‘let’s get scared and at the same time have a lot of fun,’” Wood said about his goal for the show.

For the uninitiated, “Dracula” is the story of a charming but weird Count from Transylvania who comes to London and moves in next door to Doctor Seward and his daughter Lucy. When Lucy starts to exhibit a little off-the-wall behavior herself, Seward summons former colleague Dr. Van Helsing, who happens to be one of the world’s foremost experts on centuries-old guys who sleep in coffins filled with the soil of their homeland and need human blood to survive. He advises Seward not to get too chummy with his new neighbor or to let his daughter date the guy and then sets out to destroy the Count before he can do any more damage.

This version of the play – the full title of which was originally “Dracula: The Vampire Play” and which held closely to novelist Bram Stoker’s original story – was written by Deane for the London stage in 1914. In 1927, when producers wanted to transfer the show to Broadway (where it starred America’s most famous black-caped Count, Bela Lugosi) Balderston was called in to rework the dialogue to make it more accessible to American audiences. That version was the basis for the 1931 movie, also starring Lugosi.

Wood acknowledges that a near century-old script will be a real challenge for 21st Century teenagers because of the antiquated language and the broad dramatic effect that necessarily accompanies it. Does the director encourage his actors to play “over-the-top,” adapting the Victorian-era sense of urgency by the heroine’s would-be rescuers (all men, of course) and the “woe-is-me” hysteria projected by the victim herself?

“I am trying to remind them that the style of acting in this is melodrama,” Wood said, “(but) they pull back at the right spots and there will be quiet moments because those are the scariest of all.”

In another bow to the past, Peters will present the play in its original three-act version, a rarity today when almost all plays and musicals are produced in two acts separated by a lengthy intermission.

Wood, who has been teaching at Peters since 1971 and who returned to directing this spring after a 12-year hiatus when he helmed the school’s annual spring musical, is happy to see that his school and others in the area have been recently putting more emphasis on comedy and drama during the periods in the school year when the stage had traditionally been dark.

“I think it’s wonderful that more high schools are doing straight plays and not just musicals,” said the director. “I hope more schools start doing more than just the spring musical so that more kids can get involved in the arts.”

In fact, it is because of his desire to see more high school students on stage that he is still going strong after 37 years of teaching.

“I’m certainly eligible to retire,” he said, “but I love working with the kids and I’m not quite ready yet.”

“Dracula” gives eight young performers a chance to strengthen their acting chops. They include Chelsea Sweeney as Miss Wells, the maid; Harrison Buzzato as the love-struck and slightly goofy Jonathan Harker and Thomas Rauch as Seward. Eli Diamond takes on the roll of Van Helsing and James Northrop plays Butterworth. Laura Zini is the bitten and smitten Lucy and the Count himself will be portrayed by Edward Hardy Kern. In the off-stage roles of wolves and a bat are Candace Deyarmin, Chelsea Harmon, Natalie Palamides and Matt Smith.

But Wood agrees with the suggestion that, for sheer scenery-chewing pleasure and scene-stealing opportunities, Dan DeLuca has the meatiest role in the drama as the bug-eating bite victim and resident of Dr. Seward’s in-house insane asylum, R.M. Renfield.

“When the time comes around for nominations for awards like Best Supporting Actor, the person who plays Renfield is always remembered.”

No wonder. It’s not easy to forget a guy in a straightjacket who constantly interrupts the conversation to catch spiders and flies for snacking.

“Dracula” will be presented by Peters Township High School at 7 p.m. on October 25 and at 7:30 p.m. on October 26 and 27 at the high school theater. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors and are available at the high school in advance or at the door.