Vampires are invading Hollywood this fall. But there’s no need to sharpen the wooden stakes or buy extra garlic at the supermarket, because these creatures of the night aren’t interested in sucking your blood, they’re more interested in showing off their acrobatic skills, busting some serious dance moves and even making people laugh.
The bloodsuckers are all coming to town as part of the traveling Vampire Circus, which will make its deadly home at the Montalbán Theatre on select dates Sept. 19-Oct. 6.
“It’s so much fun because the types of crowds that come to the show are really into it, and we interact with them, and we scare them but there’s still a lot of comedy involved,” said Francisco Santos, producer of the macabre show.
The theatrical 90-minute show features contortionists, jugglers, acrobats, dancers, gymnasts and clowns. And while it’s all about vampires, the show is also all about family entertainment, Santos said.
“We’ve had little kids come to the show and they’ve had a blast. We don’t have any gory images. It is a circus performance,” he said.
Santos, who is a former Cirque du Soleil performer, launched the show because of his love of horror and the circus.
“This circus was a dream. I always wanted to have my own show but I wanted to have something different. I’m passionate about horror stories, Stephen King and horror movies so I always wanted to do a mix of circus and horror,” Santos said.
So it’s no surprise that Santos added a storyline to his show that follows a traveling circus trekking through the Transylvanian forest that takes a fateful detour leading the performers to Count Dracula and his vampire minions. As night falls, the circus performers find themselves under attack and their souls are trapped forever. However, once every 500 years, the cursed circus is allowed to perform once again. They perform in front of an 18-foot-tall castle that’s set in front of a graveyard where the circus performers are buried.
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But death has done nothing to kill their skills since the performance is filled with high-flying acrobats, contortionists who bend into all sorts of shapes, roller skaters who perform dangerous stunts and a fun loving clown who is the master of ceremonies.
And yes, Dracula himself makes an appearance.
Vampire Circus
When: Sept. 19-Oct. 6 on select nights
Where: The Montalbán Theater, 1615 Vine St., Hollywood
Tickets: $39-$119
Information: thevampirecircusexperience.com
