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Dracula, the Musical is a musical based on the original Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.
It had its regional premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, California, in 2001, and then premiered on Broadway in 2004. It starred Tom Hewitt as the frightening Count and Melissa Errico as the woman he loves, Mina Harker. The show ran for only 154 performances, and received mainly negative reviews.[1] A brief nudity scene in which Dracula seduces Lucy Westerna (played by Kelli O´Hara) received much publicity,[2] as did the show´s numerous and spectacular special effects. The show later had engagements in Europe.
Plot:
Jonathan Harker, a young lawyer from England, travels to Transylvania in order to fix a deal with Count Dracula, who wants to buy a home in London. However, the Count notices a picture of Jonathan´s fiancée Mina Murray, which seems to have a strange effect on him. Harker´s stay in the remote castle is turning more and more into a nightmare. Harker manages to escape - after being bitten by his host - to Budapest. Mina travels to him and marries him, while Mina´s friend Lucy is marrying Arthur in London.
In the meantime, Dracula has reached London and starts searching for victims. He contacts Renfield and promises him eternal life in exchange for his service. His first victim is Lucy, who dies soon after he bites her. Even the renowned vampire expert Van Helsing cannot help her anymore. Lucy, however, turns into a vampire herself and - with the assistance of Dr. Van Helsing - is killed by her former love interests, Quincey and Jack, in her tomb.
Mina feels a strange attraction to the Count. Torn between her fear and love, she eventually invites him to come in. Dracula lets her taste his blood, intending to turn her into a vampire as well. Later on, he has to escape from London, because the vampire hunters are closing in on him. His enemies follow him. They take Mina, who is connected to the Count telepathically, with them.
At the Count´s Castle, the final showdown takes place. While the vampire hunters fight with an entire army of vampires, Mina now decides to follow her beloved Dracula into the darkness. But Dracula realizes that this should not be Mina´s fate. He asks Mina to release him from his doomed existence. With tears running down her eyes, she fulfills her lover´s last wish.
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