DRACULA:

A COMEDY OF TERRORS

By Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen

September 13 – 29, 2024

Directed by ICTC Associate Director Chris Kelly.

A laugh-out-loud sendup of a Gothic classic. 

Step into the shadows with our electrifying Curtain Up! show as we unleash the uproarious mayhem of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors by the ingenious minds of Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen. Fresh from its smash-hit off-Broadway reign at New World Stages in NYC, this wickedly offbeat comedy is descending upon Buffalo for the first time, igniting the stage with its irreverent charm.

This 90-minute romp of gender-bending, lightning-paced hilarity breathes new life into the timeless gothic tale by one of Ireland’s most famous exports- Bram Stoker. Packed with razor-sharp wit and a riotous parade of pop culture nods, this reimagining promises to leave audiences of all blood types howling with laughter.

Additional Programming:

Open Rehearsal (for Subscribers Only): Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at 6:30pm

Community Matinee Preview ($12/Ticket): Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 10:00am
*This season, we’re merging our Community Matinee with our Preview Performance. For just $12/ticket, attend the final dress rehearsal at 10:00am.

Opening Night Curtain Up! Celebration: Friday, September 13, 2024 at 7:30pm

Pay-What-You-Will Performances*:
Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 2:00pm
Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 7:30pm
Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 7:30pm
Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 7:30pm
(*Purchase in-person at the Box Office on the day of the performance. Seating subject to availability.)

Speaker Series: Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 1:30pm
Monstrous, seductive, hilarious — though initially conceived by Bram Stoker as a horror icon to haunt our nightmares, Dracula has assumed many forms over more than a century of homage and parody. Along with ICTC and noted vampire scholar, Charles Bramesco, sink your teeth into the history and significance of fiction’s most famous bloodsucker, a suave Transylvanian count who still embodies humanity’s deepest fears and desires. From literary origins to onscreen celebrity, from the castles of Eastern Europe to every corner of the globe, a horde of Draculas has captivated the public imagination. Come find out why — and watch your neck!

Open Captioned Performance: Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 2:00pm
(Open Captioned Performances: An LED captioning screen, located in the South East corner of the theatre displays the dialogue and any other audio portion of the production in text form in sync with the performance. For questions about reserving seating in view of the captioning signage, please contact ICTC’s Box Office at 716-853-4282 (voice), or email BoxOffice@irishclassical.com.)

Special Talk Back: Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 7:30pm
Following the performance, join us for an exclusive Talk Back event with select cast members and special guest Brett Ricci, Producer of the Off-Broadway hit Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors—a rare opportunity to dive behind the scenes!

Brett Ricci is an award-winning producer, actor, and composer/lyricist with a passion for developing new works. Producing Credits include: Broadway and National tour: The Kite Runner, Off-Broadway: Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, ‘Til Death. In an effort to foster new and emerging writers, he has produced readings, workshops and world premieres across the country. He is also a musical dramaturge and ghost writer. Brett grew up in Buffalo; 20 years ago he played LeFou in Lancaster High School’s production of Beauty and the Beast, still one of his favorite roles. He has since performed off-Broadway, on National and International tours as well as cruise lines around the world. He resides in New Jersey with his wife, Ashely, and their 3 year old son, Benton. @riccibrett

About the Playwrights:

Gordon Greenberg has directed on Broadway, off-Broadway and in London’s West End, written for television and stage, and developed, directed and produced new works for arts institutions across America.

Current directing/writing projects include The Heart of Rock and Roll, which opens on Broadway at the James Earl Jones Theatre in April 2024, following its record-breaking run at The Old Globe, the hit off-Broadway show Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors (Director & Co-Writer with Steve Rosen, New World Stages & podcast starring John Stamos, Laura Benanti and Annaleigh Ashford), a new musical about Picasso (directing and co-writing with Stephen Schwartz and Caridad Svich), the NBC television series Most Talkative (Co-Executive Producer/Writer, NBC, Blumhouse, Andy Cohen), Crime and Punishment, A Comedy (directing and co-writing with Steve Rosen) for the Old Globe, a London revival of The Baker’s Wife (Menier Chocolate Factory, 2024), Single White Female (A.T.G.), The Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee, Hua Musicals, Taiwan), Ghost Tour, The Play and the new comedy podcast series Rolling Calls, starring Julie Halston and Richard Kind (co-writer, Steve Rosen).

His acclaimed revival of Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf starring Calista Flockhart and Zachary Quinto at the Geffen Playhouse won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Revival. Variety called it “inspired,” the L.A. Times called it “unerringly good…Quinto and Flockhart expose something infinitely fragile in Edward Albee’s shatterproof play,” Entertainment Weekly called it “a riveting production…brilliantly staged by Gordon Greenberg” and the Wall Street Journal called it “intriguing…here, unusually, there is the suggestion that the oncoming dawn may truly presage a fragile new beginning.”

Other work includes the North American premiere of Piaf/Dietrich for Mirvish in Toronto (Dora Award, Best Production), Barnum (Menier Chocolate Factory, London), The Secret Party: Jacques Brel 1968 (Das Vindobona, Vienna, Austria), Secret of My Success for Universal Pictures Stage Productions, and Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big [Your Town Here] Christmas Show! in its third season at the Old Globe (co-writer Steve Rosen.)

His West End revival of Guys and Dolls was nominated for six Olivier Awards at the Savoy Theatre and then transferred to the Phoenix Theatre (starring Rebel Wilson). The New York Times’ Ben Brantley called it “pure, unforced pleasure…a boozy, bawdy party.” The Guardian’s Michael Billington called it “an expert revival…delivered with grace and elan,” the Evening Standard said “this unstoppable hit keeps getting better and better…Gordon Greenberg’s delicious production of Frank Loesser’s classy classic once again boasts chemistry in all the right places,” The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer wrote, “I left the theatre walking on air and with a grin of pure happiness on my face,” and The London Times’ Dominic Maxwell wrote, “Gordon Greenberg’s production leaves the whole audience purring with pleasure.”

Greenberg co-wrote and directed the Broadway stage adaptation of Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn at Studio 54 for Roundabout Theatre Company, Universal Pictures Stage Productions and PBS Television’s Great Performances. In its review, Variety said “Holiday Inn, the 1942 film, has gotten a complete and first-class stage redo…Director Gordon Greenberg and co-writer Chad Hodge have significantly rethought, reshaped and revitalized the script, giving the show more heart, a modern sensibility and a joyful spirit.” Deadline called it “an endorphin assault, inducing warm bath pleasure like no other show since 42nd Street,” The Hollywood Reporter called it “pure joy,” and the Star Ledger said “directed with generosity and warmth, it wears down all defenses.”

Other directing work includes the revisal of Working (Drama Desk Award, adapted with Stephen Schwartz and Lin-Manuel Miranda), Jacques Brel… (Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Award nominations), Terms of Endearment with Alfred Molina and Calista Flockhart (Geffen Playhouse for Greg Berlanti), the stage adaptation of Tangled (Disney), Johnny Baseball (Williamstown), Stars of David by Jeanine Tesori, Tom Kitt, Tony Kushner (Daryl Roth), Pirates! (created with Nell Benjamin, Huntington, Paper Mill, Goodspeed, MUNY), Band Geeks! (also co-writer, Goodspeed, NEA grant), The Baker’s Wife (Paper Mill, Goodspeed), 1776 (Paper Mill), Floyd Collins (Signature), the Klezmer-Rock reimagining of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Yentl (Asolo Rep), Blue Sky Boys by Deborah Breevort (Capital Rep.), the professional premiere of Edges The Musical (Capital Rep.), the acclaimed reimagining of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Billy Porter (Helen Hayes, St. Louis MUNY), the U.S. national tour of Guys and Dolls, Disney’s Believe, the Disney Fantasy Christening (with Neil Patrick Harris & Jerry Seinfeld), West Side Story (MUNY, Circle Award nom), Happy Days, A New Musical (Paper Mill, Goodspeed, U.S. National Tour), Vanities, A New Musical (Theatreworks Palo Alto – San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Award), We The People (Lucille Lortel Theatre & Paper Mill Playhouse), Rags (Roundabout, workshop), and the all-female workshop of Man of La Mancha (Mirvish, Toronto).

Other writing work includes Herbie Rebooted for Disney, Emerald City Music Hall, an original movie musical for Nickelodeon Television and Scramble Band, an original movie musical for the Disney Channel, The Single Girls Guide (co-writer Tommy Newman) for Dallas Theatre Center, Ars Nova, Capital Rep, the podcast Theatre Camp (with Jonathan Marc Sherman) for Sirius XM, Killing Time (with Steve Rosen), an At Home Play Commission from The Old Globe, and the new book of Meet Me In St. Louis for the St. Louis MUNY’s 100th Anniversary.

Born in Texas and raised in New York, Greenberg performed in his first Broadway show at age 12. He attended Stanford University and NYU Film School before joining J. Walter Thompson Worldwide for a stint as a producer/director of commercials. He then moved back into theatre – first performing on Broadway and on television, and soon directing and writing. He was a curator for Ars Nova, director of musical theatre development at The New Group, and Artistic Producer at Musical Theatre Works, where he created the writers development program and the New Voices workshop series. He is also deeply involved in arts education and is Co-Director of The Broadway Teaching Group, Broadway’s largest education program, in conjunction with Music Theatre International and Playbill. He has taught masterclasses at Yale University, University of Michigan, University of Oklahoma, Belmont University, Hartt School of Music, Broadway Moscow, Broadway Berlin and Arts Ed London.

He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, The Writers Guild of America, The Dramatists Guild and the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab.

Steve Rosen (he/him) has previously collaborated with Gordon Greenberg on the musical The Secret of My Success (co-book, Joseph Jefferson nomination), the plays Crime and Punishment – a Comedy and Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show (both at The Old Globe, San Diego), as well as podcasts Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors and Rolling Calls (Broadway Podcast Network). He has also co-written (with David Rossmer) the book, music and lyrics of Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation (Seattle’s 5th Ave) and The Other Josh Cohen, which was nominated for six Drama Desk Awards, as well as the Lucille Lortel and Off-Broadway Alliance Awards for Best New Musical. He also co-created the long-running Broadway improv/variety show Don’t Quit Your Night Job, devising original comedy material for artists like Sting, Zachary Levi and Ariana Grande. Other regional theaters that have produced his work include Theater Under the Stars (TX), Denver Center (CO), Paramount Theatre (IL), Paper Mill Playhouse (NJ), Maltz Jupiter Theater (FL), Geva (NY) and Bucks County Playhouse (PA). @stevierosen