She sings. She dances. She plays historical figures, detectives, and murderers with equal flair. Is there anything Cynthia Erivo can’t do? We already know she can play multiple people at once on the same TV episode (see: the Poker Face season two premiere, featuring Erivo as identical quintuplets)—and we have every confidence she’ll bring all the characters in the new Wicked audiobook to vivid life. So there’s no reason to think she won’t kill it playing 23 roles, including the title vampire, in a new stage production of Dracula.
Deadline brings this news that has us seriously considering booking an international theater trip, though the folks behind it also created and produced the Sarah Snook-starring The Picture of Dorian Grey—featuring the Succession star in 26 different parts—which came to Broadway after a successful run in London’s West End. That’s not a guarantee that Dracula, which will open next year and is described as “a one-woman theatrical extravaganza,” will follow in its footsteps, but it is a hopeful sign for stateside Erivo fans.
Kip Williams adapted Bram Stoker’s vampire classic and will also direct the play, which marks Erivo’s return to live theater after her Tony-winning stint in The Color Purple nearly a decade ago. According to the trade, “the list of 23 characters that Erivo will perform include the fanged Count Dracula, who sustains life by sucking the blood of the living; Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified solicitor who travels to to meet his new client who resides in a castle nestled in the remote Transylvanian mountains; Mina Murray, Harker’s fiancée; her friend Lucy Westenra; and Professor Van Hesling, vampire hunter and expert in occult lore.”
Erivo will also get to flex her commanding vocal talents, though sadly Dracula only features one musical number. Speaking of, with Wicked: For Good coming out this fall, Dracula‘s co-producer Michael Cassel has already taken Erivo’s potential need to attend award ceremonies during Dracula‘s early 2026 run (February 4-May 31).
“We’re taking that into account, putting all those pieces in place so that Cynthia can be a part of everything else that’s going on in her life—we’ll build that in,” Cassel explained.
She really can do it all! Definitely check out all the Erivo variants on Poker Face‘s season two premiere—the hilariously deadpan DJ Erivo was my favorite—now streaming on Peacock.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Read the full article here
