Pittsburgh, PA, USA- A chilly Halloween evening and a wonderful night for a dark seductive ballet. Michael Pink’s Dracula ballet is a dark and graceful telling of a literary classic. The performance from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is beautiful, graceful, and elegant, and on Halloween night the spookiness is well received. The audience is full of all age ranges on this night of darkness.
The lovely Benedum Center for the Performing Arts is the home of this performance on this magical evening. Artistic Director Adam W. McKinney and Executive Director Nicholas Dragga have a 2025-2026 season that is beginning with this wonderful ballet.
Michael Pink’s Dracula is in three Acts with a Prologue. The prologue is the first glimpse of the Sanatorium and Jonathan Harker’s mental state after his horrifying time spent in Transylvania. The demons, blood, ghosts, and wolves are all through his mind. Mina, Harker’s fiancé appears and eases his mind.
After prologue, ACT I is full of the travel to Transylvania, with the ease of transforming the stage through fog, lighting, a spinnable staircase, sound effects, and is set in front of imagery that is just as dark and spooky as the tale itself. Once reaching Transylvania, townspeople try to persuade Harker not to go to Castle Dracula, he does not listen to the warnings. Arriving at Castle Dracula this is the audience’s first sighting of Dracula. A frightening majestic performance. Harker stays at Castle Dracula, this is where Jonathan Harker encounters vampire women, then sees how Dracula has control of them by rushing them away. Harker desperately tries to escape but is ultimately overpowered. ACT I ends with Harker back in the Sanatorium with screams of terror. There is a short intermission.
ACT II opens into a Winter Garden Party with graceful dancing and enjoyment had by all on stage. A storm hits and Dracula enters to overtake Lucy, and blood and terror ensues. Lucy is a victim of Dracula. Lucy is taken to and is treated at the Sanatorium. Dr. Van Helsing places garlic around Lucy as he notices puncture markings on her neck. Later that night the garlic is removed. Dracula appears out of the fog and finishes what he begins with Lucy. Even later that night Lucy’s body is discovered on the floor of her bedroom. Lucy comes too and begins violently attacking others. Lucy escapes into the night as she has become undead. Heartbroken full of grieve the men set out with a plan to take Dracula down. The second short intermission is upon the performance.
ACT III opens with Mina in her room, Dr, Van Helsing visits and Renfield appears and attacks. Dr. Van Helsing has the guards take Reinfeld away while Mina is upset and ponders if Renfield could help in some way. As Van Helsing leaves, Mina has the guard bring Renfield to her to speak to him, but nothing comes of this encounter. The men return with a failed attempt at catching Dracula. Exhausted and drained the men and Harker sleep, while Mina is taken in the night by Dracula. The men hunt down Dracula in this incredible finale. Dracula is staked in a dramatical fight of a duel between the men and Dracula. Dracula dissolves. The End.
A well-deserved standing ovation as the performers take their final bow. A perfectly haunting Halloween night of ballet comes to an end. Information about The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre can be found here: https://pbt.org/