Dracula

As I overheard someone in the audience say, "Dracula" "has been done to death." John L. Balderston and Hamilton Deane's adaptation of Bram Stoker's vampire tale is probably best known as the 1931 Bela Lugosi movie. It re-surfaced four decades later in a sexy stage version starring Frank Langella. And the play has been a Halloween perennial at little theaters.So here it is, ensconced at the Spotlighters for the month of October. As directed by Melainie Eifert and Ron Gregory, with a set designed by Mitchell A. Nathan, the production turns the entire tiny theater into a kind of Halloween funhouse.

David Manners, 98, who starred in Hollywood films in the 1930s and played the hero in Tod Browning's 1931 "Dracula" and other classic horror movies, died Dec. 23 in Santa Barbara, Calif.

David Manners, 98, who starred in Hollywood films in the 1930s and played the hero in Tod Browning's 1931 "Dracula" and other classic horror movies, died Dec. 23 in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Axis Theatre. "The Last Session." 7: 30 p.m. Wednesday at the theater, 3600 Clipper Mill Road. Needed are two men, ages 30-40 (one who can play piano), and one woman, age 30-40. Prepare 16 bars of music. Call 410-366-0396.Columbia Community Players. Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit." 7 p.m. July 25-26 at Faulkner Ridge Neighborhood Center in Columbia. Needed are two men, mid-30s and 40s; five women, 20 through 50. Call 410-461-6197.Dundalk Community Theatre. "Forever Plaid," a 1950s musical review.

Surge Dance Company plans a gigantic project for its 1998-1999 season: a full-scale production of Carl Orff's theatrical cantata "Carmina Burana" with 30 dancers, a full chorus, soloists and percussion ensemble.The work will be choreographed by Ken Szrzesz, artistic director of Surge, which is the modern dance company in residence at the Carver Center for Arts and Technology. The musical forces will be under the direction of Douglas Byerly.The piece will premiere at First Night Dover in Delaware on Dec. 31 and then will be given Jan. 8-10 at the Carver Center.

Believe it or not, Bela Lugosi was more than just Dracula - even if the accent always brings back memories of the world's most famous bloodsucker.For proof, check out Tuesday's Lugosi fest on TCM. For early risers (or those who have mastered their VCR timers), things start off at 6 a.m. with 1933's "The Death Kiss." At 7:30 a.m., it's "Mark of the Vampire," with Lionel Barrymore and Lionel Atwill joining Bela in a murder mystery that seems to have something to do with vampires. And at 8:45 a.m., Kay Kyser and his band try to save a girl trapped in a haunted house in 1940's "You'll Find Out."

Poised on the brink of bankruptcy, about to witness the disintegration of a dream his father had nurtured for nearly two decades, Carl Laemmle Jr. turned to the most unlikely of saviors -- a dead guy with a thirst for blood.Sixty-eight years later, that decision still haunts the world. In a good way.By giving the go-ahead to a film adaptation of "Dracula," Laemmle, the head of Universal Studios, did more than just keep his creditors at bay (at least until 1936, when mounting debts forced the studio's sale)

The Ballet Theater of Annapolis staged its version of "Dracula" so soon after the Pasadena Playhouse's dramatization opened that I feared I would be Dracula-ed out. Happily, I wasn't.Artistic director Edward Stewart's dance adaptation proved interesting and exciting.Created last season for the 100th anniversary of Bram Stoker's Victorian novel, the ballet has much to recommend it -- spectacular dancing, haunting music, fine costuming, expert staging and great lighting.Dmitry Tuboltsev, the former Bolshoi Ballet dancer who has become the theater's principal male dancer, has the stage presence, acting ability and dancing skill to realize all aspects of the bifurcated vampire, who is both living and dead, forbidding and attracting.

The century-old Dracula legend has all but achieved theatrical immortality, reincarnated in various guises, from the 1931 horror movie with Bella Lugosi to the recent Gothic romance with Gary Oldman.Now comes the Pasadena Theatre Company and its production of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in the Humanities Recital Hall at Anne Arundel Community College on weekends this month.The story remains romantic, but what decades ago was sexual innuendo has become more explicit. The vampire sets about seducing the sanitarium owner's daughter, and she seduces her suitor to learn his secrets.

For the second Halloween season in a row, the Ballet Theater of Annapolis is staging "Dracula" at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis.The ballet, a modernized interpretation of Bram Stoker's horror tale, will feature Chinese dancer Zhirui Zou this fall, making her debut as a principal dancer with the Annapolis company in a new role as the monster's jealous bride.Zou, a Beijing resident considered one of China's finest dancers, is spending a year in Annapolis.The ballet tracks Dracula -- danced by Dmitry Tuboltsev, a Bolshoi dancer who joined the company and tackled the role last year -- from his birth through his death.

Tomorrow night after the kiddies trot home with their bulging candy bags, it's playtime for us adults. Not only is it Halloween - it's Friday night. That means double the tricks and treats for the taking - from Halloween-themed concerts to costume contests with cash prizes. You just have to know where to look. Here are some of the best options for Halloween revelry in and around the city. 1 How could Halloween night in Fells Point not be No. 1 on our list? Most of the bars are slammed all night, and masked mayhem will rule on South Broadway until the wee hours of the morning.

Halloween is creeping closer, and it won't be long before little ghosts and goblins hit the streets in search of sweet treats. But for a more historical All Hallow's Eve this year, skip the candy trail and head straight to the home of Dracula himself: Romania. Despite being the birthplace of the spooky figure, Romania is one of Europe's most beautiful countries, with charming villages and rich Carpathian mountain scenery. Here are five things to do: 1 Explore Bran Castle : Don't let the name fool you: This is indeed Dracula's castle.

ISSUE: In his first year living at Government House in downtown Annapolis, Gov. Martin O'Malley took the sedate route in Halloween decorating: two ghosts and a scarecrow, hay bales, cornstalks, a pair of leaf wreaths, mums. Under O'Malley's predecessor in the mansion, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the capital became an inflatable nation. A giant blow-up pumpkin, an air-filled Dracula, tombstones, giant eyeballs and many other holiday trimmings blanketed the front lawn. YOUR VIEW: As the Christmas season decorating extravaganza nears, what kind of decorations do you prefer outside the governor's mansion?

ISSUE: In his first year living at Government House in downtown Annapolis, Gov. Martin O'Malley took the sedate route in Halloween decorating: Two ghosts and a scarecrow. Hay bales. Cornstalks. A pair of leaf wreaths. Some mums. Under O'Malley's predecessor in the mansion, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the capital became an inflatable nation. A giant blow-up pumpkin, an air-filled Dracula, tombstones, giant eyeballs and loads of other holiday trimmings blanketed Maryland's front lawn. YOUR VIEW: As the Christmas season, with its own decorating extravaganza, marches ever closer, what kind of decorations do you prefer outside the governor's mansion?

Your costume's ready, the candy dish is full, the jack-o'-lantern's been carved. Looking for that last little push to get you in the proper Halloween mood? Time to break out the DVDs. Movie-makers have been focusing on horror at least 1896, when French filmmaker Georges Melies cast himself as the devil in the short Le Manior du diable (The Devil's Castle). The main problem for horror-movie watchers is deciding which level of fear would be appropriate. Are you looking for something suitable for the entire family?

Halloween is just a couple weeks away, and once again it looks like Baltimore will have to do without the classic horror filmfest the day so richly deserves. Someday, somewhere, somehow, Baltimore is going to have itself an all-night (or even all-day) horror-movie marathon around Halloween. Maybe at the Charles. Maybe at the Senator, or the Bengies. Maybe even at the soon-to-open Landmark Theatres at Harbor East. Or even at the BMA. Heck, have it at the corner of Howard and Centre streets, but have it somewhere.

The Historian By Elizabeth Kostova In this smart retelling of the Dracula story -- a 2005 bestseller -- a young girl's discovery of a mysterious book, blank save for a sinister woodcut of a dragon, impels her father to divulge, reluctantly, details of his vampire-hunting days back in grad school. Halfway through his tale, which is told over several sessions in various atmospheric European locations, he vanishes. His daughter's quest to find him is interwoven with letters that reveal the past in full.

Harry Browne, 72, an author and investment adviser who twice ran for president as the Libertarian Party candidate, died Wednesday of Lou Gehrig's disease at his home in Franklin, Tenn. He received 485,134 votes, or 0.5 percent, for president in 1996 and 384,431, or 0.37 percent, in 2000. He never held elective office. He campaigned across the country, promoting the value of smaller government. He wrote 12 books that sold more than 2 million copies, the party said in a news release. They included Why Government Doesn't Work, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World and Fail-Safe Investing.

In one year in the midst of the Great Depression, Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde and a troupe of vengeful sideshow freaks invaded Hollywood. In four films, released from February 1931 to February 1932, the American horror film was invented, refined and - some would argue - nearly perfected. In that morbid 12-month period, Universal Studios would set the gold standard of Hollywood horror with the release of both Dracula and Frankenstein, while Paramount countered with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and MGM took an uncharacteristic journey down the path of depravity with Freaks, in which the denizens of a carnival sideshow enact vengeance on those who consider them less-than-human.

McDaniel College faculty to offer jazz concert today The McDaniel College Music Department will hold the first in a series of jazz concerts at 6 p.m. today at the Carroll County Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster. The concert will feature McDaniel faculty members Glenn Caldwell on saxophone, Tim Jenkins on guitar, Eric Byrd on piano, Jon Seligman on drums and director of college jazz ensembles Bo Eckard on bass. The program will showcase original compositions from each band member.