POETRY ELECTRIC | April 6

Monday, April 6th
7:30pm

Community Arts Space
74A East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003

Tickets:
Adults: $15

Students/Seniors: $10

Ticket price is inclusive of all fees.

Curated, Written, and Directed by
William Electric

Photos by
Desiree Conston

JOHNNY DOO WOP DRACULA

GREASE MEETS TWILIGHT – in writer – director, William Electric Black’s bopping Drac-apella Musical – JOHNNY DOO WOP DRACULA. Former Sesame Street writer, William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James, and an ensemble of 10 actors go back in time to 1955, Pittsburgh, PA where we meet a singing, swinging vampire named Johnny Dracula. He comes to Pennsylvania, because it sounds like Transylvania, to put a bite on the local teens. But not with his fangs. He’s a doo wop singing vampire who just arrived to make a name for himself in the music scene. This FANGTASTIC, FANGTABULOUS immersive show with 11 Drac-a-pella doo wop songs will have you clapping and snapping – while eating twinkies, rice pudding, popcorn – and sipping a coke or two. Get ready for Johnny Doo Wop Dracula – the TRANSYLVANIA KID – YEAH BOPPIN’ IS HIS BIZ— BOP-SHE-BOP -SHE-BOP, BOP-SHE-BOP -SHE-BOP…BOP-BOP!

Cast

William Electric Black

Sam Baum

Fernanda Becher

Chyna Jackson

Zoe Ray Prawda

Mizzie

Nick Schiro

Caitlin Snyder

Malikah Stafford

Nicole Toshima

Poetry Electric

La MaMa Program

The Poetry Electric fuses music, movement, sound, and dance with the spoken word and presents artists working in a wide range of styles including beatboxing, jazz and hip-hop theatre. This series has presented over 200 emerging poets from diverse cultural backgrounds.

William Electric Black, aka Ian Ellis James, is a seven-time Emmy Award winning writer for his work on “Sesame Street” between 1992 and 2002. He also wrote for Nickelodeon’s “Allegra’s Window” and Lancit Media’s “Backyard Safari.” In 2022-2023, his children’s television show – “Rap-U-Cation” was optioned by FarView Entertainment. He also developed an original TV show for FarView called Dragon Clouds. In a series of multimedia projects with Doug E. Fresh, Chuck D, and Artie Green, he has campaigned for exercise and good nutrition for young children, prescription drug awareness and obesity prevention. Faculty member, Dept. of Dramatic Writing, NYU Tisch. New tune on Spotify – Dancing In The Girls Room.

Poetry Electric 2025–2026 is made possible by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The John Golden Fund, and The Shubert Foundation. Additional funding from the Axe-Houghton Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.

          

 

     

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La Mama is a world-renowned New York cultural institution dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre.