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'''Dracula''' is a 1924 stage play adapted by Hamilton Deane from the novel of the same name by Bram Stoker, and subsequently revised by John L. Balderston. It was the first adaptation of the novel authorised by Stoker's widow, and has influenced many subsequent adaptations.
The original production starred Raymond Huntley as Dracula; Deane had originally intended to play the title role himself, but in the event opted for the role of Van Helsing. This production toured England for three years before settling in London.
In 1927 the play was brought to Broadway by Horace Liveright, who hired John L. Balderston to revise the script for American audiences. The American production starred Béla Lugosi in his first major English-speaking role, with Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing; both actors reprised their roles in the 1931 film version, which drew on the Deane-Balderston play.
In addition to radically compressing the plot, the play reduced the number of significant characters, combining Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray into a single character, making John Seward this Lucy's father, and disposing of Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood.
The play was revived in 1977, in a production featuring set and costume designs by Edward Gorey and starring Frank Langella as Dracula. The production won Tony Awards for Best Revival and Best Costume Design, and was nominated for Best Scenic Design and Best Leading Actor in a Play (Langella). Langella, like Lugosi, went on to reprise the role in the 1979 film version.

Contents

Deviations from the novel

External links and references

Deviations from the novel

★ The characters of Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris are omitted.

★ Dr Seward is now Lucy's father rather than her suitor. He runs a mental institute in the English countryside, rather than adjoining Carfax Abbey, London.

★ The characters of Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra are combined, the latter providing little more than her first name.

★ Harker's first name is John not Jonathan, and he does not go to Transylvania, Renfield does. Count Dracula is already living in England by the time the play starts.

★ A new character is introduced, Lucy's maid, who survives.

★ Harker and Lucy do not marry as he and Mina did in the novel.

★ Dracula sleeps under Dr Seward's house. It is here that he is staked by Harker, rather than stabbed by Morris, after Van Helsing tricks Renfield into revealing the location of Dracula's coffins.

★ Renfield survives.

External links and references

★ Dracula on the Boards at The Dracula Guide

★ Dracula at National Players