[ Topeka actor Cliff Alfrey posed... ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 31, 2000 by Capital-Journal

Topeka actor Cliff Alfrey posed with two items from his collection of "Dracula" memorabilia: behind him, a life mask of actor Bela Lugosi; in front, a cardboard cutout of the actor in the 1931 movie, "Dracula."

By LISA M. SODDERS > Photograph by PATRICK L. PYSZKA > The Capital-Journal

When it comes to "Dracula," you could say Topeka actor Cliff Alfrey is a little batty.

Alfrey, who works for the Kansas Department of Motor Vehicles by day and has acted in numerous local theater productions by night, collects all things "Dracula," particularly those relating to the stage and screen versions of the vampire's story.

He has a life mask of actor Bela Lugosi, whose portrayal of the undead count in the 1931 film, "Dracula," forever cemented most people's visions of the vampire as being prone to formal dress and a lurching Hungarian accent. ("I never drink....VINE, my dear!") Alfrey also has stuffed toy bats, bats made out of crystal, bat belt buckles, bat furniture and bat jewelry.

"I do like 'Dracula' because, being a magician, you can manipulate different things; illusion is really wonderful on stage and lets you be creative," said Alfrey, who builds unusual props for local theater productions in addition to being an amateur magician. "You can really go out on a limb with 'Dracula.'"

He remembers one stage production at The University of Kansas, an original production called "Dracula: A Symphony in Horror," in which Dracula appeared to dissolve in front of a window outside a house, only to slowly materialize inside the room. The effect was accomplished by simply having the outside actor lie in front of a lower panel below the French doors, and another actor positioned inside the house, curled up into a ball, who then stood slowly up. The timing made it look magical.

Although he himself has never played the count on stage, he did play the vampire hunter Van Helsing in a Helen Hocker Center for the Performing Arts production several years ago. He's also fond of the character Renfield, an inmate of the insane asylum run by Dr. Seward who becomes Dracula's slave. The character is written as comic relief in stage productions, Alfrey said, but by the end of the play, the audience is so fond of him that when Dracula kills him, "it's a shocker."

Topeka Civic Theatre & Academy has never staged a production of "Dracula," although it's been discussed, said Shannon Reilly, TCT artistic director.

"It's a difficult show for any live production because you need to transform someone into a bat on stage, and that's not all that easy to do," Reilly said. "You want to do the show justice and some of the effects that Dracula would pull off are really kind of difficult, although with our (new theater) we're now up to a challenge like that."

Alfrey noted that most modern theaters don't have trapdoors --- TCT included --- which would make some of the effects easier. The only way TCT could have a trapdoor is if they extended the stage over the orchestra pit and built one for the show, he said.

Reilly said he first learned about Alfrey's collection during TCT's 1995 production of "Arsenic and Old Lace," --- Alfrey built the "dead bodies" for the show and played the demented brother who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt. They started talking about the 1977 Broadway production that starred Frank Langella. Reilly had taken classes from the show's director, Dennis Rosa while Reilly was getting his master's degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Alfrey showed him the "toy theater" book based on the sets and told him about his collection.

"I don't think there are that many bats in Batman's cave," Reilly said. "The thing about Cliff is he's one of the greatest guys I've ever known --- he's sweet, he's funny, he's goes nuts for Dracula. It's kind of the opposite of what I would expect --- something that doesn't suck the blood out of you while you sleep."

But Reilly said he can understand the novel's enduring power: "It's the greatest Gothic horror story because it takes an element that everybody naturally fears and is naturally attracted to --- the chance to be immortal, but at the cost of losing your soul."

Alfrey has a letter written by Abraham "Bram" Stoker, (1847- 1912), the Dublin-born novelist who wrote the 1897 novel, "Dracula." Stoker also was the personal secretary of Sir Henry Irving, a famous stage actor of the day, who managed the Lyceum Theatre in London, and Stoker often wrote letters for Irving, who then signed them, Alfrey said. The letter is one such piece of business correspondence, and above the letter are pictures of both Stoker and Irving.

In 1921, Frederich Wilhelm Murnau did a film version of the novel, changing the name of the title character to Graf Orlock, changing the setting to Germany, and titling it, "Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Garuens." Unfortunately, Alfrey said, "he neglected to obtain copyright permission and Florence Stoker (Bram Stoker's widow) sued and won. All copies were ordered destroyed; however, one copy survived."

Hamilton Deane adapted the novel for the stage in 1924; the play was performed in Derby before making its London debut in 1927. John L. Balderston rewrote the script for American audiences and Lugosi was cast as the Count. The play opened on Broadway on Oct. 2, 1927, ran for 40 weeks, and several theatrical companies even took it on the road. In 1930, Universal Studios acquired the movie rights. Lugosi was one of five men considered for the role of Dracula. Alfrey said the studio really wanted Lon Chaney, but he died soon after negotiations.