Meet the understudies who know every role of Denver Center's "Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors"

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts recently celebrated 100 performances of their production "Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors." The show, which is playing at the Garner Galleria in Denver, is performed by five actors each night.

However, while there are five cast members on stage in each performance, there are more than five characters featured in the storyline. So, to make that happen, every character other than the one playing Dracula has to know the lines for multiple characters per performance.

At one point, there is even an actor on stage who is playing three characters at one time.

However, with such a small cast, that means the understudies are tasked with knowing nearly every line for every character in the show.

"It is just so much fun. It is non-stop fun for 90 minutes," said Bryan Black, one of the understudies. "The audience doesn't stop laughing the whole time."

"Being an understudy, you have to be ready to go at any time," said Colten Blair, an understudy.

Black and Blair join Anatasha Blakely as the three understudies who cover every role in the show.

"We cover multiple people on stage. I am always going to be worried about accidentally speaking the other person's lines but not actually saying the other person's words," Black said as he pretended to be reciting lines with his mouth without actually saying them.

"I've had to actively stop myself from saying someone else's line," Blakely said.

The show starts performances at the end of 2025 and continues to play through May 10, 2026. Due to the longevity of the show, the understudies have been given a lot of time to learn the roles and lines.

"I feel we have a bird's eye view of the show since we cover so many roles," Blakely said.

Each understudy is asked to watch at least one live performance of the show each week to make sure they are fresh on the show. In doing so, they have also picked up on some of the improvisations the leads have done and have tried to incorporate them into their work as well.

"We've had so much more time to get to know the show than I have ever had before," Blakely said.

The show only runs 90 minutes and does not feature an intermission. In order to keep the show moving quickly with a small cast, the characters work with the stage crew behind the scenes to do rapid costume changes. Blakely said that it has been harder to learn than the lines themselves.

"For this show, the backstage business and costume changes took me longer to learn," Blakely said.

All three performers are Colorado residents, making Dracula a perfect show for them to be able to learn and come to love.

"I think it is a combination of thrilling and also comforting because we are all local. So, we get to be on our home turf," Blair said.

Those who would like to see "Dracula, a Comedy of Terrors" can find information online. 

CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.