Review: Blood/Love, a Surprisingly Enjoyable Vampire Pop Opera

A vampire pop-rock opera can go only one of two ways: self-important and awful, or self-aware, campy fun. Blood/Love: A Vampire Pop Opera at Theater 555 is the latter, a slick and mostly mindless evening of steamy goths and rocking tunes. It’s by no means high art, but Blood/Love is more fun than it has any right to be.

Valerie Bloodlove (Carey Renee Sharpe) is Satan’s chosen queen (the specifics of how she became his bride, and whether Valerie was ever human, remain a mystery). But she rejects him because she wants to go above ground and live in the sunlight. Ironically, she won’t be tanning on the beach anytime soon, because as the Devil’s ex, she can’t become fully human. and ends up a vampire.

This set-up is a little confusing, but much of this information is provided in a printed libretto that’s handed out before the show. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter; what’s clear is that Valerie is a hot vampire zipping through time. In an extremely cool sequence, she feasts on soldiers dying in various wars, bringing us to the present day. Along the way, she turns Demetrious (Zephaniah Divine Wages) and Cleo (Brooke Simpson) into vampires, creating her own little coven. There are some Faustian elements too. Valerie’s world turns upside down when she meets Anzick (Christopher M. Ramirez), a guitarist who made a deal with the Devil (Andrew Avila) to achieve fame. They bond over music (Sharpe is a classically trained violinist who plays beautifully here) and fall in love.

The book (by star Sharpe) doesn’t develop the story much beyond what I’ve said, and the plot holes are cavernous. But where the book is lacking, the pop-rock music by Sharpe and Dru DeCaro overflows with appropriately gothic lyrics. Anzick’s songs particularly stand out. With his deep voice that’s matched perfectly to the driving beats, and an animated performance as a tortured rock star, it’s believable that Ramirez would have a career heading a band with or without the help of the devil. Sharpe’s voice is similarly well-suited to her music and pleasurable to listen to, though she is not quite as emotive as Ramirez.

The supporting players often surpass the energy of the leads. Simpson often steals the show, belting her way through “Last Drop,” an excuse for the ensemble to gyrate (Natalie Malotke, Oksana Platero, and Jonathan Platero are the choreographers), and “Humans Are Boring,” a comedic ditty that becomes a near showstopper. Wages has the vibe to fit right into an Anne Rice adaptation, which for this production, is the highest praise to bestow.

The ensemble members never stop moving. They look hot, dance, die, and dance again, some flipping and spinning. Malik Bilbrew, Nya, and Erika Zade, who play a trio of Devil’s Advocates who act as Greek chorus. Their voices blend hauntingly, and their entrance is creepy as hell. The intricate and impressive costumes by Alex & Juli Abene add to their horror and spectacle.

Director Hunter Bird’s staging is a whirlwind of lighting (Japhy Weideman), sound (Jessica Paz), video (59 Studio, with set design Jason Ardizzone-West) and special effects (Skylar Fox and Daniel Weissglass) that seamlessly work together to bombard the senses. It feels like a concert that goes by almost too fast; I was shocked at how late it was when I left the theater.

Look, this winter sucks. The cold and snow have been endless. The Olympics are over and the rest of the news cycle is depressing and devastating. Most of us are on our second or third viewing of Heated Rivalry. We’re all just trying to survive until spring. Why not treat yourself to an hour and a half of sexy vampires dancing around to catchy music? Blood/Love could be the silly, sensual distraction you need right now.