Dracapella Review – Powerful ballads and beatboxes while ghoulish comedy goes down for the count | platform

IIf ever there was a show where the title came first, you’d think it was this show by Dan (whose line is it anyway?) Patterson and Jez Bond. Why else, if not to justify the pun, would you make a lyrical version of the Victorian vampire novel? And Dracabella is nothing if not fond of puns. (“There’s a supernatural force at work in Transylvania.” / “What is it?” / “No, not witches.”) There are plenty of other sources where that force came from in this creepy comedy, in which an undead Roman count concludes his 400-year quest for love to a soundtrack of closely aligned ’80s hits and a beatboxing hero.

All of the latter are provided by ABH Beatbox, a staff member of the BAC Beatbox Academy’s Frankenstein, and in whose global success I see another (distant) inspiration for this gothic musical crossover. This is more conventional, a knowing entertainment that constantly sends up its storytelling clichés, and at every turn opts for painful laughs over thrills. This arguably lowers the stakes (it’s catchy!) when a story about centuries-old passion becomes a vehicle for the gameplay you’ve written. But the relentless silliness of Patterson and Bond more than makes up for it, as Harker’s train to Dover is transferred to a replacement railway coach, and Dracula demonstrates his metaphysical powers by having his followers consumed – as if by magic! – A bowl of marshmallows.

Comedy rarely feels overworked, at the expense of pushing forward. There are songs, too — like Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” as sung by Harker’s deranged predecessor — that feel more like side steps than narrative steps forward. But more often than not, the lively cast (including comedian Kieran Dodd and all-around comic Philip Pope), twitchy wordplay (“Shall I never die? I can live with that”) and meta-theatrical wit are a delight, and the songs (Cindy Lauper, Bonnie Tyler, Survivor) are sumptuously arranged and successfully out of proportion. Props in particular to Keala Settle, as she fills the vocals as she sings Dracula with the final soul number. And to ABH Beatbox, whose Looney Tunes effects create a lively, interactive soundworld for all this awesome fun.