The stage glows red. Thalian's lamps, scattered through the theatre, flicker like candles. Before the curtain even comes up, the audience is already whispering about the spooky atmosphere, waiting with anxious anticipation. We're warned about what's to come: flashing lights, fog, and a whole lot of blood.

Dracula is giving Thalian Association Community Theatre a chance to play with something Wilmington doesn't see all that often on a main stage: horror that is actually allowed to be horror.

Big Dawg's 'Dracula' exceeds every single aspect of the theatrical arts. From the talents shaping the multitude of roles on stage, to the numerous unseen hands that allow it to appear so smoothly. I was left in awe.