‘Vampire Bros vs. Werewolf Lesbians’ by MBS Productions (Courtesy photos)

Last weekend, MBS Productions got into the spooky mood with its latest production. A bit of Twilight maybe, some definite queer factors and director/producer Mark-Brian Sonna’s flair has brought to life Alejandro de la Costa’s new play Vampire Bros vs. Werewolf Lesbians. With a title like that, who can resist?

Well, Addison could apparently

Just prior to opening the show, Sonna expressed frustration with the show’s venue. Vampire Bros made its premiere on Oct. 19 in the Stone Cottage Theatre at the Addison Theatre Centre. But before its opening, Sonna sent a letter to Dallas Voice voicing his concerns with what he saw as discrimination by the Centre about the visuals and titles of the show for the city’s electronic billboard.

This ad was submitted on Oct. 1 and was rejected. No explanation as to why. I inquired if it was due to the title. I received a response on October 2: “Marketing would get in trouble with the name alone.” I replied that the only word I could see they would have a problem with is the word Lesbians, but I pointed out that it was a descriptive word because the storyline is about werewolf lesbians. Lesbians is not a derogatory term, but if it was perceived that way from the marketing department, they were clearly indicating they had a problem with homosexuality.

Read the full letter here. 

But the show must go on and Vampire Bros vs. Werewolf Lesbians has three more performances for its closing weekend from a brief run for the Halloween holiday season. Performances will run today-Sunday. 

From the MBS Productions website, the show is described as two bros from Dallas head out to east Texas to a unique music festival with the hopes of getting laid. They rent a cabin in the woods as a place to stay from a lesbian couple. To say things go awry over the weekend is a serious understatement!

“It is a trashy romp and spoof of bad horror films mixed with social satire skewering everything from Bro culture, LGBTQ+ stereotypes, to Tik Tok speak,” Sonna said in an email response talking about the show.

The cast includes Devin Johnson, Hal Heath, Christina Hollie, Benjamin McElroy Trisha Romo Trey Smith with special appearance by Sonna and Trinity the Dog

As part of its theatrical tradition, MBS Productions always includes a Halloween show. Sonna  said that he and playwright de la Costa talked about the idea for a subversive show with a ridiculous title over something truly serious or scary. 

Plus, queer and horror always mixes well. Sonna mentioned that werewolves and vampires are always hiding in plain sight so it plays up to closeted identity mixed with power and a certain amount of fabulosity. Sonna and de la Costa wanted to play around with those notions in a kitschy way. 

“With all the turmoil in the world this last year we decided to do something fun and silly as an escape from the harsh realities. A brainstorming session was had trying to come up with the most ridiculous title for a show, once the title was agreed on, the script was developed to flesh it out.  Usually plays are written the other way around,” he said. 

A similar approach of title first, play later was MBS’ Outrageous, Sexy, Nekkid Romp which would ultimately launch the company’s Lovely Play cycle. 

Clearly, Sonna and de la Costa are doing something right.

“My play, The Beulaville Baptist Book Club Presents: A Bur-Less-Q Nutcracker!, was also conceived via title first.  And we’re about to launch it for the 15th year after 367 performances,” Sonna said. “It is an unorthodox way to write a script, but, hey, these have been my company’s biggest hits!”

Click here for tickets to Vampire Bros vs. Werewolf Lesbians.

—Rich Lopez