Dracula, a dark shadow
Friday, October 30, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 31, 2026 | 2:00 PM
The Granada Theatre
State Street Ballet’s Dracula, a dark shadow unleashes a cinematic tale in a newly commissioned ballet. Nicolas Blanc’s choreography meets Philip Glass’s iconic score performed live onstage by the Grammy-winning Kronos Quartet. Join us for a spectacular performance as dancers and musicians unite onstage for a visceral, unforgettable experience.
Production Sponsor Cheryl Goldberg
Choreography by Nicolas Blanc
Music by Philip Glass
Featuring Kronos Quartet
Recommended for ages 7 and up. Younger audience members are welcome, but please note that some scenes may be intense for very young children.
“Perfection in conception and execution…. Art that devastates the senses.”
Peek Behind the Curtain
Synopsis
Act 1
Dracula, a dark shadow begins with Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, and his fiancée, Mina Murray. He has just received a note summoning him to Transylvania (modern-day Romania) to arrange purchase of an abbey in London for a mysterious Count Dracula. Mina, who is well-educated and intelligent, recognizes that this will be an important professional step for her fiancée, and although she will miss him, sends him on his way.
While traveling through the eerie but beautiful Carpathian forests, Jonathan Harker is met by an unsettling witch and a threatening pack of wolves, before arriving at Count Dracula’s Castle near the Borgo pass. Dracula appears on his castle parapet and welcomes Jonathan. The count is quite elegant and well-mannered, as aristocratic as Jonathan expected and very old fashioned and foreign. Inside the castle, Jonathan eats alone, Dracula telling him he has already dined. After dinner, they discuss Carfax Abbey, a crumbling mansion next door to an asylum, which Dracula has purchased through Jonathan’s firm. During these exchanges, Jonathan grows more and more anxious over the strange demeanor of the count and returns to his bedroom to escape the presence of his host.
Meanwhile, back in London, Mina is nervous that she has not heard from Jonathan. Renfield, another young lawyer, and Lucy Westenra, Mina's dear friend, comfort her.
In Transylvania, Jonathan tries to correspond with Mina to tell her the frightening situation of imprisonment into which he has fallen, but tired from the long journey and the late night, falls asleep. He is woken by four bloodthirsty undead creatures and three mysterious and seductive women, who are the vampire brides of Dracula. Just before they feed on him, Dracula interrupts and sends them away, saying that Jonathan belongs to him. While Jonathan is strongly attracted by Dracula’s seductive power, he soon understands that he is trapped and that Dracula will let him perish (or perhaps kill him!) in this crumbling castle.
Back in London, at Lucy’s mansion, several guests, including Mina, Renfield, and Dr. Van Helsing, are all gathering at a grand ball, during which Dracula arrives. What seems like an impromptu meeting is actually a well-crafted ruse by Dracula to meet and begin to bewitch all who are dear to Jonathan, and especially Mina, Jonathan’s beloved wife. Dracula seems to have a mysterious attraction for everyone in London society, with his old-world elegance and aristocratic manners. In particular, Renfield seems captivated by Dracula, and before the end of the concert, Dracula has hypnotized him into a state of madness.
Act 2
Inside the asylum, which shares a border with Dracula’s newly-purchased Carfax Abbey, we meet again Dr. Van Helsing, a Dutch medical doctor and lawyer, who is also a world-renowned expert in the occult. He is attempting to treat Renfield for his recent and mysterious episode of madness. Mina and Lucy arrive at the asylum to visit their friend, who tries to warn them about Dracula. He ends up being misunderstood in his endeavor, as Van Helsing and his two assistants believe he is attacking Mina and he is therefore removed into his asylum cell.
Lucy returns home in overwhelming sadness having witnessed Renfield’s turn to madness. Not even Mina’s presence can add any comfort to her troubles. Later that evening, Dracula visits Lucy in her bedroom, where he seduces her and feeds on her, which begins her transformation into a vampire. Van Helsing desperately tries to save her but she is swept away by undead souls before his medical and spiritual interventions can succeed.
In the midst of all this tragedy, Jonathan returns home to London, having managed to escape Castle Dracula and the undead guardians. He is met by Mina, who has been devastated by the losses of Renfield, to madness, and Lucy, who died and disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Mina is so distracted by these recent tragedies that she is almost oblivious to Jonathan’s love. Later, at her home, her friend Renfield manages to warn her a second time of her great danger, despite his own deep mental disturbance at the hands of Dracula. That night, Dracula arrives in Mina’s room and seduces her, and against the warnings of her fear and suspicion, she feeds on his blood.
Later that night, Dr. Van Helsing discovers, to his horror, Mina in confusion and disarray and surmises that she will probably soon turn, having been infected by Dracula. While he still has time to save her, he hypnotizes Mina to try to learn from her subconscious what Dracula is planning. In her state of deep hypnosis, Mina is pulled between her love for Jonathan and her mysterious connection to Dracula. His blood in her body has begun to change her into a vampire, but she resists due to her strength of character and her love for Jonathan.
Our story ends with an epic battle where Van Helsing and Jonathan confront Dracula, his three vampire brides, a group of undead creatures and other vampires and wolves, ending in the decapitation of the women, the defeat of Dracula, and the rescue of Mina. But has the immortal Dracula truly been vanquished and is she forever safe?
Behind the Seams
The costumes for Dracula, a dark shadow are beginning to take shape.
Inspired by Victorian fashion and reimagined through a contemporary lens, these designs help bring Nicolas Blanc’s haunting new ballet to life.
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