by andrew j stillman
Taking on the iconic role of Dracula is no easy feat, one which Canadian actor George Krissa knows all about as he leads the show in The Old Globe’s rendition of Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors, which was recently extended and now runs through Sunday, November 3.
Krissa, who’s usually based in Toronto with his fiancé, Brian, and their two dogs, also marks his first stateside gig with the role. Although he has been to California before, his time as Dracula makes this his longest venture, and he told The RAGE Monthly that he’s “absolutely fallen in love with San Diego, specifically. It’s incredible here.”
Locals can already attest to why America’s Finest City bears that title, but it’s a long way away from Krissa’s Canadian roots. Before packing up and heading to Toronto to pursue his acting career, Krissa grew up in the small town of Lashburn in Saskatchewan, with a population of 700 people.
“My graduating class had 12 kids in it,” he said. “When we did our 10-year high school reunion, only half the class was able to make it, so the six of us just went for coffee.”
He’d had an interest in acting and singing during his younger years, but it wasn’t until he landed in Toronto that things started picking up for him. Other roles he has taken on include Rocky in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Roger in Rent, and even a history-making role in Hallmark’s The Holiday Sitter opposite Jonathan Bennett, where he played the role of Bennett’s on-screen lover, Jason Devito. Although Bennett had starred in plenty of Hallmark Christmas movies before, this was the first time one of them centered around a gay couple as the main characters.
“We shot that in August in Vancouver,” Krissa said. “It was like 90 degrees. I had a T-shirt, flannel, a cardigan and a jacket with a scarf. I was just melting.” That said, he noted they “had the absolute best time. It was really amazing.”
On landing the role, Krissa said he’d initially thought he’d blown the audition and hadn’t heard anything back for weeks. Once he did hear back, there was no other meeting, no callback, no interview — they simply offered him the job.
“I was very startled by that,” he said. “Startled in a good way. When we did it, it was, in a way, Jonathan’s baby. He produced it; he came up with the concept. He really got it off the ground and worked on it so hard. It meant so much to him, so being on set with him, he took such great care of what we were doing, and we had so much fun that it never felt heavy there.”
Now that Krissa has a number of stage and screen credits, he can’t fully decide which avenue he prefers.
“I truly love them both,” he said. “They’re so different, but they’re so similar in a lot of ways. I love it when you’re filming something, and it’s like the first rehearsal, opening night, and closing night, all in the same breath. But then you get the repetition in theatre, which is really, really fun because you get to morph your show and your performance into something that really means something to you. You get to rediscover moments every day, and the instant feedback from the audience is important and fun. So, I love both of my children equally.”
While he has done some fun projects that he’s proud of, Krissa’s first love is singing, and the only thing he hasn’t been able to do yet is Broadway. However, he broke some Canadian records in a recent showing of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, which kept getting “extended and extended,” so much so that it’ll return for another run next summer.
“It’s like Toronto’s Broadway, basically,” he said, though he’s spending the time between the shows on Dracula.
Krissa had just returned from rehearsal when we chatted, which he said is a “loose adaptation of the book” but “inspired by, like, Mel Brooks, Rocky Horror Picture Show gender-bent full-on comedy.”
“What’s great about a show like this or playing a role like Dracula is that they’re always different,” he said. “Every version of Dracula that’s ever been made is completely different. People have ideas, but there are no real expectations of what you’re going to see. With this, we really get to make it our own, and everyone in the cast gets to come up with their own version of who these people are.”
The fast-paced show is full of gender swaps and quick changes, with most of the cast taking on multiple characters and fully showing their skills.
Krissa landed the role from Toronto because he has an agent based here. The agent sent him the audition after his friend, James Daley, took on the role in New York. Before that, the show had played in Montreal, but Krissa turned down the audition for it in lieu of pursuing The Holiday Sitter instead.
“It [Dracula] did very well in New York,” he said. “And the whole thing went viral, and people were really excited about the show and the production. I had an audition come back around for this, so I took it. I thought it would be a great, great entrance into working here [in the States] to play an iconic character on an iconic stage like The Old Globe. I’m walking through paradise every day.”
Since this version of Dracula is a little . . . different . . . from what we usually know of him, Krissa has had a fun time with the role, as it feels like starting from scratch in some ways.
“I’ve done comedies before, but this time it’s almost like a farce,” he said. “It’s really fast-paced, so finding the rhythm of the show and the rhythm with the cast, marrying this, and keeping the heart in the story has been fun. We want the audience to go on the journey with us but also keep the pace enough so we stay ahead. If the audience gets ahead of us, they go to sleep. It’s been a great challenge, and I feel so lucky. We have an amazing group of very accomplished, very brilliant people.”
What everyone else brings to the table makes it harder for Krissa to pinpoint what he’s most excited for people to see from the show.
“No moment exists without everyone doing their bit before it,” he said. “It’s just 90 minutes of fun from start to finish.”
It isn’t just the people Krissa shares the stage with who bring their all to the project, either.
“Everyone from the cast, the writers, the director, our stage manager, backstage crew, costumes, set, lighting, all of it. Everyone is working really hard, and the people at The Old Globe have been so great and welcoming. Again, it’s my first time down here, so I don’t really know what I was expecting, but it’s better than what I was expecting.”
Regarding preconceived notions showgoers may have of the plot, Krissa also wants people to let go of their expectations and just enjoy the show.
“Whatever you’re expecting to see, it’s going to be funnier,” he said. “When people see Dracula, they expect it to be very dark and spooky and brooding. But this is a new take on it and a very queer spin on a lot of stuff.”
For tickets and more information, visit theoldglobe.org
Andrew J. Stillman is a writer of fantasy stories and freelance content. In his spare time, he makes YouTube videos and explores the world on his travel blog at lifeinanotherworld.com. Follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.