The lobby walls of the Rosslyn Spectrum are dripping blood, strings of scarlet fabric oozing down to the floor, giving audiences a shivery indication of what is to come. And Synetic Theater's fever-dream vision of the Dracula legend delivers -- and then some -- in an erotic and highly charged production directed by Paata Tsikurishvili, with sensuous choreography by Irina Tsikurishvili.

The palette of the piece is stark black with slashes of white, with blood splashes of red that startle and enervate. The music varies from the sacred to the operatic, but it is always thundering to match the overall high drama of the play.

An Eastern European influence pervades "Dracula," which begins with Vlad the Impaler (Mr. Tsikurishvili) -- the real Transylvanian nobleman some say is the inspiration for Dracula -- wielding a blade and felling warriors with balletic grace. He impales them on red poles, their limbs swaying gently in death, and he barely gets a chance to admire his handiwork before he is beset by the Devil (Dan Istrate). (Click here for full article)