Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors

STUDIO 400

Directed by Denley Messerly // August 21-30, 2026

Prepare for a comedy you can really sink your teeth into! In Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, we adventure into the treacherous mountains of Transylvania, where a meek English real estate agent named Jonathan Harker meets the one and only Count Dracula. When he returns, his fiance’s sister Mina falls ill with a mysterious disease of the blood. The couple enlists the help of famed female vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing to track him down. Their antics are guaranteed to increase your pulse and cause bloodcurdling screams–of laughter.

From the director

I suspect Bram Stoker never imagined his famous vampire would one day be reinterpreted through the combined influences of Monty Python, theatrical chaos, and the same energy that keeps people scrolling AO3 long after they should have gone to sleep. Yet here we are. This production has become one of my favorite directing experiences because this cast and crew approached every impossible request with the same response: "Absolutely. We can make that happen." With six actors, countless costume changes, a surprisingly tiny budget, and backstage engineering that should probably never be examined too closely, we've created a production that's heartfelt, unapologetically campy, and joyfully absurd. My hope is simple: that you spend tonight laughing a little harder than you expected and remembering that making space for weird joy is never a wasted effort.

-Denley

Crew

DIRECTOR - DENLEY MESSERLY
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - EMJ JENKINS
APPRENTICE DIRECTOR - JANA MILES
STAGE MANAGER - KELLY REED
LIGHT DESIGN: JOSHUA PAUL WECKESSER
COSTUMER - TIFFANY NICHOLS
COSTUME CREW - JEANNETTE GIBSON AND CARISSA MILLER
PROPS - DENLEY MESSERLY
BACKSTAGE CREW - ERIN QUINLAN, OLAF IDES, HOLLY JO TAYLOR
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR - VERONICA LINDHOLM
STUDIO 400 CHAIRPERSON - BARBARA JACOBS
PLT MARKETING SPECIALIST - ASHLEY DENNY
SHOP SUPERVISOR/MASTER CARPENTER - BRYAN CHAPMAN
PLT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - KATHY HOLSWORTH
PLT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - SANDY COX

Cast

DAVIS BARE as ACTOR 1

Davis is a senior at the University of West Florida studying Musical Theatre and Arts Administration. This is his third role at PLT, following Jekyll & Hyde (Sir Archibald Proops) and Junie B. Jones: The Musical (Sheldon Potts). He is thirlled to be working with such a talented, kind, and hard working cast and crew, and he is so excited to be a part of this show!

Eryl Diamond-Odell as Actor 2

Eryl is a junior at The University of West Florida studying Musical Theatre. This isn’t her first show at PLT, nor is it her first show with her lovely director, Denley. She was last seen at PLT as Daughter in Trail to Oregon. She has been so excited to sink her teeth into her most important job of all; father and bug eating butler.

OONAGH FAZELY as ACTOR 3

Oonagh is thrilled to be returning to the stage as Lucy. Sharing the stage with this cast has felt a little like being Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Endless thanks to her family for always believing in wonderfully impractical dreams. She hopes you laugh as much as they did while making it!

KISMET DUNKERLEY as ACTOR 4

After staring in Trail to Oregon (Father), Somebody to Love (Helena), and Junie B. Jones: The Musical (Junie B.), Kismet is thrilled to be back for another show at PLT! Kismet considers herself immensely lucky to be involced in a production like this where she gets to work with a cast, crew, and directing team that she adores! As Junie B. she learned to juggle, now she will learn to kill a vampire!

JAMES PLATT as ACTOR 5

James is a junior at The University of West Florida earning his B.F.A. in acting. His previous credits at UWF include Karnak in Ride the Cyclone, Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Detective Cole in Stop Kiss. This is his first show at PLT and he is so excited to be a part of the community.

DANIELLE WILLIAMS as ACTOR 6

Danielle is excited to be back on stage after a very short break. She last appeared in The Sugar Witch (Sisser) and has been seen in POTUS and Short Attention Span Theatre. She is excited to use her extensive resume as reference for Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. She paid her way through college working in the service industry as a waitress and gravedigger. In 1897 she received her captain’s license and has been working in the shipping industry on and off since then.

special thanks

KG Uslan, Katelyn Geri, Nathan Nickerson, Addie Quina