Centreville High’s fall play has bite — that’s because it’s "Dracula." With a cast and crew of 44, this classic, Gothic chiller takes the stage Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Nov. 19-20, at 7:30 p.m. each night. Tickets are $10 at the door.

"I’m excited about this — there’s a lot of energy focused on this show," said Director Mike Hudson. "It follows Bram Stoker’s book closely, but in a way Hollywood never attempted. However, it’s not appropriate for children under 12. This is not the stereotypical ‘Dracula’ — it’s very dark and unexpected."

The story begins in Transylvania and moves to London in the late 1800s. It also features a slew of special effects, including smoke, mist and equipment projecting texture.

"So we’ll project the moon onto the stage and will use two, special curtains which can be lit to be either solid or see-through," said Hudson. "The whole stage will look like a huge, marble plateau with 14-foot columns, and it’ll be very atmospheric with blowing curtains and fog."

Portraying Dracula is senior Ian Lyons. "In the beginning, he’s in his 90s, weak and hunched over — a shell of his former self," said Lyons. "Later on, as he begins to feed on people, he becomes young and gains power. Then the others try to stop him from preying on the two, main, female characters, Lucy and Mina."

He’s fun to play, said Lyons, because of Dracula’s darkness and power. "He’s so different from the other characters — mostly alone and apart from them," said Lyons. "And getting to tell people I’m Dracula is pretty cool."

He said the show should be really popular. "Vampires are pretty big, right now," said Lyons. "We want the audience to feel bad that Dracula’s under a curse and sympathize with him."

Senior Andrew Myers is his understudy, chomping at the bit for a chance to perform, but doing it only at a dress rehearsal. "I style my performance after the 1931 one of Bela Lugosi," he said. "We have a parallel because he wasn’t originally considered for the part, either. But I still have to learn all my blocking, marks and lines and will strive just as hard as Ian."

Myers said Centreville’s "Dracula" draws several elements from the Gary Oldman version in 1992, such as the costuming and visual effects, lighting, blood and music cues. "One of the coolest aspects is all the ‘bodies’ of Dracula’s previous brides we’ll have strewn over the stage," he said. "And when he comes on stage, their eyes flash open and follow him around the room. It’s awesome — it should be a fantastic show."

PLAYING LUCY is senior Marlo Clingman. "She’s in her 20s and flirts with three men, but then she’s bitten by Dracula and transforms into a vampire," said Clingman. "She’s more worldly than is generally accepted in this time period. She’s more cavalier and liberal in how she talks."

It’s a fun role, she said, because "I get to go from a forward, young woman to an evil, bloodthirsty vampire. I especially like when I’m in a tomb and walk out with blood all over me and face off against Van Helsing, the vampire-slayer. The audience will be blown away by what we do with the set. It’s one of my favorite novels, so I was excited when I heard we were doing this."

Senior Annemarie Scerra portrays Lucy’s best friend, Mina. "She’s in a love triangle between Dracula and her fiancé, Jonathan Harker," explained Scerra. "She’s righteous, proper, moral and wants to set a good example for others. She’s loves Jonathan, but gets mesmerized by Dracula. He puts her in a trance and she thinks of doing things she wouldn’t normally have dreamed about."

Scerra’s delighted with her part because she’s gone through four years of theater with both Lyons and Julien Guh, who plays Harker, so "it’s great to act in a mainstage production with them."

Stage manager Mike Palermo calls the light and sound cues, runs the light board and makes sure the show runs smoothly. "I also helped build the set, representing the world of the unknown, or the dream world," he said. "It’s the place where extraordinary and supernatural things exist."

He said the show’s lighting requires constant work, but it sets the mood with different light movement, placement, isolation, color and intensity. Best, he said, is "creating the set and seeing it come together." Palermo said the audience will like the play’s intensity and action: "It’s so suspenseful, it’ll keep them at the edge of their seats."