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Unbeknownst to the captain and crew, this ship carries strange cargo. Along with boxes and boxes of Transylvanian earth comes an ancient evil to loom over England. As with most tragedies, we know how this one ends: Every crew member of the Demeter is going to die. But as with any good tragedy, we watch, thrilled and mesmerized, anyway.
In “Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter,” City Lit Theater and Black Button Eyes Productions concoct an adaptation of chapter seven of “Dracula” that stands on its own. The crew tells their ghost story, a tale of horror written in the captain’s log and other details too terrible to commit to paper, with both acting verve and design finesse.
The Demeter’s crew sports several well-sculpted characters and performances. Nathaniel Kohlmeier’s Petrofsky is eminently hateable (his burden as the resident rapscallion), Andrew Bosworth’s Abramoff is the practical bad boy who couldn’t possibly die, Alex Albrecht’s Basarab is the pitiably out-of-his-depth chief mate, and Cameron Austin Brown’s Munir serves as the audience’s stand-in learning the ropes (and knots) of the ship while provoking laughs.
At the top of the heap are veterans Brian Parry and Herb Metzler, whose Captain Gorodetsky and Yorga are unsurprisingly exciting to watch. Gorodetsky’s increasingly tense strides to keep his crew together build and build with expert control. Yorga’s disarming charm and hateful bigotry make him a perfectly watchable character hiding dark secrets that you can’t help but anticipate. I felt that the whole crew held their own in this ensemble piece, but I was always secretly excited for the next appearance of these two standouts.
The classic storytelling mode of “Strange Cargo” deftly moves from dialogue to aside to narration. Timothy Griffin’s script maneuvers both source text and original material with equal ease. Griffin’s additions to “Dracula” complement the novel neatly and bring themes, including ethnic prejudice and questioning faith, to the fore without imposing on the viewer. One of my favorite scenes between Captain Gorodetsky and Yorga circled the Christianity question by retelling old stories and myths using puppetry. The carefully constructed dialogue prioritized story and drama over philosophizing while delivering an intriguing perspective on the futility and utility of belief.
More than a few surprises lurk in the Demeter’s hold. The interwoven scenic, projection and puppet designs of Ruby Lowe, DJ Douglass and Jeremiah Barr provide a fablesque backdrop and scene partner for the crew. Recognizable elements of this chapter of “Dracula,” including the dated log entries and the charted course of the Demeter, are delivered through well-considered design, while other elements are delivered as narration. Joe Griffin’s sound design links these aspects with precision.
“Strange Cargo” is a play that knows it’s a play and is unabashed of winking at the audience. This meta quality eases the viewer into the design choices, but it also provoked a few too-melodramatic moments and characterizations that were nonetheless entertaining. The play is also a little long, and with a few cuts this ship would be tightly run indeed. The dramatic irony undergirding the events that befell the Demeter makes for a perfect spooky season treat. I would happily sit for their tale again.
“Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter” runs through November 23 at City Lit Theater, 1020 West Bryn Mawr. Tickets are $38, available at citylit.org, or by calling (773)293-3682.
