Another freakin’ vampire

Local performance group Atomic Arts made a name for itself with the surprise summer hit of 2009, Trek in the Park. A musical adaptation of the classic Star Trek episode, “Amok Time,” Trek in the Park drew crowds to city parks and the Bagdad Theatre. With Nosferatu, Atomic Arts brings their formidable powers of adaptation to the classic 1922 silent film.

The play is faithful to the original film in spirit, if not entirely in content. Many of the plot points in the play nod more towards Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake and homage, Nosferatu: The Vampyre. Jonathan Harker leaves his wife, Ellen, to present a deed of sale to the eccentric Count Orlok who lives across the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania. Once there, Jonathan realizes that Orlok is a vampire. Shortly after Jonathan’s realization, Orlok loads himself and a series of coffins onto a boat and sets sail to suck Ellen’s blood and to spread the bubonic plague.

The small cast ably manages the production. Many actors play multiple parts, which oddly adds to the play’s effectiveness. Seeing the same faces in different ways during the production seems to hint that all mankind is at risk from the menace of Nosferatu, as many of the actors’ characters die. This lends the survivors a sort of vulnerability that might have been absent had the production not been recycling players.

Portland State student Jesse Graff is especially creepy as the menacing Count Orlok who is dressed in a costume lifted straight from the film. Atomic Arts uses a limited set that consists of a stone wall, an arched wooden door and a revolving array of furniture. Orlok truly makes these sets come alive as he emerges from the door into settings as varied as a ship, a decrepit castle and an English manor. His gruesome facial makeup contributes to some of the play’s most arresting visuals—which mostly feature Orlok sucking blood.

Brandee Haynes is particularly lovely as Ellen and has the most nuanced role of any character in the play. Her sacrifice at the play’s end is moving and morbidly sexy.

Clips from the movie itself, as well as original visuals that indicate changes in scenery, are projected behind actors on a screen. The iconic shot of Orlok ascending a stairway in the Harkers’ home is a fun treat for fans of the film. Also enjoyable is the live music from a vintage pump organ, an original score by local band Fast Computers, which perfectly complements the onstage action.