Bawdy, breathless, gender-bending fun, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a take on the classic horror tale of the blood-thirsty Count Dracula from Transylvania, wreaking havoc…with a delicious comedic spin. Yet Dracula also teeters between brilliance and boredom – some of the dialogue is dense, the pace drags, and overall the show feels too long for today’s taste. BUT then a comic quip lands or a bout of physical comedy brilliance comes along that saves the day and snaps it back in line.
Honestly, it would help if there was an intermission (more time to loosen up with a drink!), a bit of editing, and if the audience was encouraged to participate; there are multiple opportunities for audience interaction a la Rocky Horror, especially during the entre-scene transitions, where the 4th wall is completely toppled. Like when hunky Dracula shimmies his shiny pleather money maker, the audience should erupt into a dolla dolla tossin’ Chippendales riot!
The actors’ performances and abilities are spectacular. A quintet of brilliance, they shapeshift and use props to great effect for more than an uninterrupted, exhausting, hour and a half.
Marco Alberto Robinson plays a handsome, almost impossibly-muscly, lusty Dracula dripping with fanged sexiness – and he pushes it to the edge; throughout the show, Robinson prances about in leather, satin and see-through BDSM costumes that ooze sensuality, eliciting hoots of animal pleasure from the audience, and… is it hot in here?
Uh, sorry, what was I saying? I seem to have lost my train of thought…
Oh yes…
For this voyeur – oops, I meant VIEWER – it seems Dracula has more to give and would have welcomed a performance toppling into saucy Burlesque.
Additional memorable performances are delivered all around…
Leslie O’Carroll gets some of the biggest laughs with great lines perfectly delivered, and audible gasps of admiration for her bewildering ability to quickly transform from Honorable yet lusty English Country Gentleman, to a bearded sea captain, to a raving, bug-eating lunatic. By the way, if O’Carroll’s name is familiar to frequent DCPA-goers, it’s likely due to her years playing the scrumptious confection of Mrs. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol.
Adriane Leah Robinson is absolutely convincing as an English Country Lady with a naughty, saucy side. She also magically transforms; from salty, rough wagon driver, to kleptomaniacal hunchback, to bustled Babe in a bustier, in mere moments.
Pushing gender-bending to the hilt, Zach Kononov brilliantly and hilariously spends the evening in over-the-top ugly frocks, outlandish wigs, ridiculous accents, and clearly enjoys this role (and his polo pony).
Sean Scrutchins shows off outstanding vocal abilities; in one scene, brilliantly staged with puppets, he effortlessly and convincingly switches between three personas. His “coming out” as a stud is hilarious and (again) could have used a bit more saucy “OOMPH”.
The tiny stage in the Garner Galleria Cabaret theater is used to great effect, transformed into a gloomy gothic castle atmosphere thanks to lighting, sound, costumes, and our own imaginations. And the costumes! Detailed and rich, they look authentic yet are break-away enough to facilitate split-second costume changes.
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a fun farce that plays things a bit safe, perhaps to not offend the average Denver viewer, and delivers the goods if you are looking for a laugh. But I do wonder what could be if the actors (and the audience) were let loose!
Learn more and purchase tickets on the website. Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors runs through May 10, 2026 at the Garner Galleria Theatre.
-By Jimmy McDonough, In Good Taste Denver
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