2008-01-19

Lorenzo Lamas as 'Dracula'


Lorenzo on Stage? A new experience for him, I think.
Well, last year he played the title role of 'Dracula' at Premiere Stages at Kean University.
Have a look at the picture to see how a Latin Dracula would look like ;-)


This text is from Lorenzo's website:

Transforming From Television Action Hero To Literature’s Ultimate Bad Boy, Lorenzo Lamas Takes Center Stage In the Title Role of Dracula At Premiere Stages at Kean University, Oct. 27 through Nov. 3

October 11, 2007- Union, NJ- Lorenzo Lamas’ recent journey has taken him from action hero to critically-acclaimed cabaret performer to the King of Siam and now The Prince of Darkness. All in just over a year. That’s quite a leap for the man most people know for his roles as the quintessential bad-boy heartthrob on televisions’ nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest, the action hero in series such as Air America and Renegade and recently portraying a single father on the CBS soap The Bold and The Beautiful.

The road to live theater that began at a dinner party at singer/pianist Michael Feinstein’s home in Los Angeles now brings him to Premiere Stages at Kean University to interpret one of the great characters of all time Dracula, just in time for Halloween. Dracula runs from Saturday, October 27, through Saturday, November 3 at Kean University’s Wilkins Theatre,

Lamas had previously performed live and vocalized at charity events in the Los Angeles area but it was Feinstein’s dinner party invitation that would change his career. After dinner, the guests gathered around the piano for a sing along. Lamas crooned “The More I See You” for fellow guests that included his mother, legendary film actress Arlene Dahl, veteran of Broadway and the nighttime soap opera Knots Landing, Michele Lee and songstress Lorna Luft.

“As I finished, Michele looked at me and said ‘You can have the girls fainting in their seats,’“ Lamas recalled. Feinstein also complimented him. “I really didn’t think too much about singing until six months later. I received a call from my agent inquiring about my availability to play Feinstein’s at the Regency. I had never seen a cabaret in my life.”

Lamas hustled to pull a cabaret act together and debuted to great reviews. It was that experience that made him realize he wanted to forgo the world of exploding sets and car chases for live performing. This past summer, Lamas took on the demanding lead role in The King and I at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine.

“That role was demanding, three hours on stage every night, yelling, commanding, posturing and singing, all with great energy required. That experience gave me the confidence to take on the role of Dracula.”

How does Lamas see the role of The Prince of Darkness, his first non-musical role on the live stage?

“Dracula is actually a very sympathetic character. He’s trapped in a cycle that’s a very lonely plight. When he’s in Transylvania and starving to death, he’s dying inside. The way he satisfies his hunger is to kill the very thing he loves and draw it into the world of darkness and eternal life. Think of all the people he’s cared about that have died over the hundreds of years that he’s been alive,” Lamas explains. “He sees various people as the salvation to his soul. There’s great passion and incredible loneliness in Dracula. He really is the ultimate dangerously seductive bad boy.”

The production, as directed by Premiere Stages artistic director, John Wooten, will feature a naturalistic approach to the classic tale. “This is not another musical or comic revival that pokes fun at history’s darkest character,” explained Wooten. “Our aim is to transport the audience to 19th Century England for a heart-pounding ride that provides no escape from the ‘undead.’”




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