Also this issue: Prints and the Revolution IMPRINT hits the streets with an art invasion. -Lori Hill Book Tour With the “Art on the Page” exhibit, more than just politicians are getting booked at City Hall. -Robin Rice Museum Studies 6: Richard Hamilton -A.D. Amorosi The Etching Club of London: A Taste for Painters' Etchings -Karen Williams

August 29-September 4, 2002

artpicks

The Passion of Dracula

He's baaack! Risen from the dead and thirsting for blood again is Count Dracula, one of the most venerable characters in the history of theater. Alex Vasiliadis, a Philadelphia native who's been acting in England for the past five years, returns home to star in the latest reincarnation of the legend, The Passion of Dracula, at Puttin' on the Ritz.

With long black hair and intense eyes, Vasiliadis looks the part. His father was a real estate entrepreneur in Center City, and Vasiliadis grew up in the city and Broomall (Vasiliadis' brother owns the Sansom Street eatery Pandora's Box). Vasiliadis studied in London at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, and he became a member of British Actors Equity and appeared on stage and on BBC-TV. When his mother passed away two years ago, Vasiliadis decided to return home and look for a stage career here.

This version of the Dracula story stresses the count's suave, gallant nature and his ability to exert a hypnotic charm, according to playwright David Zinman. Vasiliadis says that he's trying to show Dracula as an elegant man, "who walks among us, a man much like you and me, not a typical monster."

The Passion of Dracula, Sept. 5-Oct. 5, $12-$19.50, Puttin’ on the Ritz Theatre, 915 White Horse Pike, Oaklyn, N.J., 856-858-5230.

—Steve Cohen

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