by Barry Willis *

Named “Playwright of the Year” in 2017 by the Wall Street Journal, Kate Hamill is among the new crop of trendy young writers. Her Sherlock Holmes spoof, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B, is currently running at Ross Valley Players in Marin County. Publicity supplied with that show indicates that Hamill specializes in reinterpreting classic bits of literature through the lens of a hyper-intelligent hyperactive adolescent girl.

Her more ambitious takedown of Bram Stoker’s Dracula runs through June 27 at San Francisco Playhouse. Directed by Bill English, its full title is Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really—a ticket-killer if there ever was one.

But the show itself is hugely entertaining, from Jacquelyn Scott’s stunning set—soaring gothic arches outlined in blue neon—to compelling performances by Stacy Ross as the madwoman Renfield,  Nemma Adeni as Lucy Westernra, Johnny Moreno as the haughty Count Dracula, and the fabulous Loriaux sisters Bridgette and Charisse as Dracula’s wives Drusilla and Marilla. Bridgette is credited in the playbill as movement director for the production, but for some reason bills herself as “Elizabeth Cowperthwaite” in the cast list.

Susi Damilano gives vampire hunter Van Helsing a comic twist. Dressed like an 1880s Western gunslinger with an oversized cowboy hat, her Van Helsing repeatedly insists that she be addressed as “Dr. Van Helsing—women are admitted to universities now” a comment that annoys conservative Doctor George Seward (Josh Schell) who disagrees with her theory that vampires are an alternative, parasitical species that have preyed on humans since the beginning. James Aaron Oh is tremendous as Jonathan Harker, a young Brit who meets Dracula in person and of course gets infected.

Only Dracula fanatics will know how much of Stoker’s original survives after being put through Hamill’s contemporary filter. She does throw in some intentionally comedic bits that lift the show out of the traditional horror genre. Living up to its billing as “a darkly comic drama,” this Dracula is visually stunning, well-paced, a lot of fun and not to be taken too seriously —especially its overwrought title.

Playing through June 27, 2026 at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street, San Francisco.

Click HERE for more information and tickets.

Photos by Jessica Palopoli

Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: barry.m.willis@gmail.com