fangs!

Last year I saw “Witch!” from the Downtown Repertory Theater. It was October, had a scary theme, and purported to be immersive, so all my buttons were pressed. It was a high-quality performance, although not exactly what I expected from the description. This year, they follow it up with fangs!, a similarly spooky-sounding show at the fantastic twin venues of the Heritage Square Museum and Mountain View Mausoleum. Would it adopt more conventions of the “immersive” genre? Or stick to their strengths?

Red Right Hand

While last year’s performance of Witch! was based largely on real-world history, this year’s show takes place in the fictional land of Strigoia. I think the Carpathian mountains were mentioned by name, but even if not, Strigoia is a clear stand-in for Transylvania, home of the most famous vampire mythologies. In a relatively peaceful town, three young women are preparing for one of them to be chosen as Harvest Queen. At this annual celebration, the “winner” is given to the mysterious Baron who rules over the town but is rarely seen.

Ostensibly, the Harvest Queen will be a new bride for the old Baron, despite him taking a young woman every year as long as anyone has been alive. The townspeople outwardly call it a great honor, but in private, there is a lot of nervous hesitation over the entire ritual. They console themselves with the wealth the Baron bestows upon the family of the chosen girl. As the audience, though, we are attuned enough to deduce the Baron is a vampire and winning the competition is likely a death sentence. And this year, there is enough unrest in town that the ceremony is disrupted…

Hot Blooded

Just like the bloodsucking vampire hides behind the public façade of a Baron, fangs! also hides its truth in the bucolic Eastern European setting. At its heart, this is a parable about capitalism. Capitalism is the vampire, sinking its fangs relentlessly into the public, its bloodlust (greed) never sated. The peasant who dares stand up to the Baron’s iron grip espouses ideas like “nobody should go hungry,” and “sick pay is justified.” He’s a union leader, rallying the workers, an especially appropriate message given the dual strikes that have taken so much of Hollywood’s attention over the summer.

It’s a message I agree with wholeheartedly, and the way it’s depicted works very well. It works so well, though, that the audience catches on early, and further points driving the metaphor home may come across as repetitive or heavy-handed. And the morality of capitalism isn’t the only message. Topics like religious dogma, LGBTQ pride, and xenophobia all make appearances. None are addressed as much as the economic theme, and they all sync together with an overarching message encouraging open-mindedness and acceptance of others. Not that fangs! forgets to have fun. The finale drops the metaphor and goes for a good old-fashioned vampire story (but a classy one).

Bad Blood

Our showtime was 7:50, and we probably got started at little after 8:00. Before the show, audience members are welcome to hang out in the courtyard, with a small selection of complimentary beverages. I opted for the on-theme “blood” cocktail. Once we began, the structure of the show was similar to the dazzling choreography of Witch! The audience will be split, split again, rejoined, detoured, and singled out. Nobody will see all the same sequences, and if you’re going with someone else, I’d even recommend sitting on the opposite side of the first scene as them, so you can maximize the number of different scenes you see.

As with Witch!, most/all people will get a one-on-one scene with a performer. These feel extra special, and I believe each one is different. Continuing last year’s brilliant idea, fangs! gives participants a pendant after their scene, as a keepsake and more importantly, to show the cast who has been chosen and who still needs to be taken aside privately. A side effect of the both the complex structure (and the many social commentaries) is that the show is LONG. Our 7:50 showtime ended at 10:46, almost 3 hours. There are chances to sit, but much of the show is also standing and walking. Comfortable shoes are encouraged when you buy your tickets, and they’re not kidding! It’s also about 1/3 outdoors, so I recommend dressing warmly.

When you are inside, though, the mausoleum is lit as well as I remember. Using lanterns, a few spotlights, and eerie mood lighting that changes to fit the scene, the environs are wonderful. I wish they would push this aspect a little further–maybe fog, some pitch-black areas, some deliberate disorientation–but I think that would get further from the type of “immersive” theater than what Downtown Repertory Theater focuses on. Their emphasis is on quality writing and acting, both of which are here. As my friend put it, they give you an immersive THEATER experience, instead of IMMERSIVE theater.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

After my second year of seeing Downtown Repertory Theater’s Halloween offering, I think I understand what they care about. They emphasize history, social issues, quality writing, and the art of acting. This is not immersive theater like Delusion. So perhaps it’s more approachable to a wider audience that would be put off by running away from a monster, or heaven forbid, crawling in the dark. Instead, fangs! lets people enjoy a seasonal creepy show and still walk away feeling like you learned something. You can learn more about the Downtown Repertory Theater here. Tickets for fangs! are $75 and are available at this link. There is only one showtime per night, select nights through Sunday, November 12.