Just in time for Halloween, the Albuquerque Little Theatre will be the only place in Albuquerque that you can catch Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. The re-imagining of the Bram Stoker classic will be pulled off with “quick changes” by a small cast including Jacob Chavez, Little Theater’s ’s newest marketing director, portraying a lovesick Dracula. Chavez has played bad guys such as the pirate Antonio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, but says he’s never played a character quite so villainous — or so sexy.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Albuquerque Little Theatre got the area rights to Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors and it had a limited run in New York. Could you tell us why that might be significant or important?
We have the opportunity to play a show that is very new and already growing and amassing a cult-like following. So it’s really exciting playing something that’s so contemporary in a historical building such as ALT and doing it on such a big stage. We feel like those are usually very few and far between in community theater. It’s such an honor to do something that people like and has a lot of popular demand in our own city.
The show has already developed a fan base described as “rabid” and they compare the crowds to Rocky Horror Picture Show crowds. How are attendees encouraged to participate and make the show fun?
Well, I didn’t know the fans were that devoted, the pressure’s on. I really look forward to that because coincidentally, I’m also doing The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the same time at The Guild. I’m playing Eddie. I have the opportunity to do two shows with very devoted fan bases.
It’s Halloween, it’s a fun show and we’re encouraging anyone who wants to see it to come in costume and express themselves, because the show is very much about finding yourself and surprising yourself.
The show has a cast of five, playing about a dozen characters and sometimes actors are playing two characters at once. How will the cast pull this off?
Luckily for me, Dracula is the only character I get to play, so I have the easy job. Some of them are going to be playing different characters on stage at the same time and they’re gonna do that with quick changes. We have a very talented cast who can do fun voices and portray different characters at the snap of a finger. With our great crew and amazing set designer, it’s going to create the illusion that we’re switching characters in the blink of an eye.
An actor will exit the stage and take off their costume, replace it with a completely different costume and go back on stage as a different character, as if nothing happened. We have a few actors who are playing both male presenting and female presenting characters.
How will your portrayal of Dracula be different from performances audiences might have seen in the past?
I’m not just imitating how other people have done the famous character because it’s a sillier environment. My Dracula is more of a rock star kind of figure. He’s supposed to be very athletic, very romantic, very full of himself. And even though he is a little bit scary, I’m getting into the charming aspects of the character more so than the scary parts. In this portrayal, he’s very lovesick.
There is definitely a lot of innuendo. Even though it’s more of a silly comedy, there are some still frightening aspects to it. Maybe not too spooky but you never know. There are moments where it can be quite raunchy, quite sexy. I do have to take off my shirt. I’ve been working out a lot to get ready.
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
Friday Oct. 11-Sunday Oct. 27
Albuquerque Little Theatre
224 San Pasquale Ave. SW
Tickets: $32-$35For showtimes visit: AlbuquerqueLittleTheatre.org