A mediocre Dracula

Ouch! Dracula's bite isn't nearly as harsh as this reviewer's:

Some people figure if they set no expectations they can't be disappointed. I'd personally rather be the squeaky wheel that rolls away satisfactorily greased once in a while. I hoped Dracula - as the opening production of this year's Jason Miller Summer Theatre Festival - would dazzle. I wanted to disappear in a fantastic, magical world where a few goodhearted men could prevail over the potent evil. While it's fair to say the production is an adequate summertime diversion for those seeking an evening's entertainment, it doesn't reach the high standards I expect of a professional theatre company. The play continues at the Hanlon's Grove Amphitheater in Nay Aug Park in Scranton through July 31. It seems director Bob Shlesinger was torn between his partiality for comedy and a desire to create a foreboding atmosphere. And with such a stylistic otherworldly show, defining decisions must be made. The show is technically successful. Michael Draper's sound design is alternately demonic and anxiety provoking. The cold granite rooms of Van Helsing's art deco home are dressed with plush, red velvet. Mist oozes from everywhere and the green, hamster-wheel lighting effect illustrating Dracula's hypnotic powers is marred only by the fact that Joe Lombardo, as Dracula, isn't convincingly mesmerizing without it.