The 2007-2008 season for the Burien Little Theatre is starting off with a bang-or shall I say a fang? Or perhaps a "bite?"

OK, let's get the rest of the bad puns and snide comments out of the way first. "BLT has a show that you can really sink your teeth into." "This show is so good, you can take it to the bank ... the blood bank, that is." And, "BLT's stage has been turned into the Vampire State Building!"

Enough with the corny humor. By now, you've probably figured out that the folks at the Burien Little Theatre have opened their new season with an early Halloween treat, Dracula.

And despite all the bad vampire jokes, this is definitely not a comic send-up of the classic tale of blood and horror. This is a chilling production you will want to experience for yourself.

For those of us who have only seen performances of Dracula such as Bela Lugosi's spooky yet campy blood-sucker, or even George Hamilton's comic take on the Transylvanian count, BLT's ambitious stage rendition is a fascinating lesson on Bram Stoker's multi-layered story of love, lust, evil and the horror of immortality.

Many of us are unfamiliar with Stoker's original work that spawned so many films about the world's most famous vampire. Playwright Steven Dietz's script serves as a wonderful introduction to Stoker's novel.

It begins with R.M. Renfield (Joseph McGuire), the tortured and mad story teller whose life is tragically intertwined with Count Dracula's (Ken Holmes).

Sentenced to an asylum for the insane, Renfield is under the care of Dr. John Seward (Michael Albert), a compassionate man deeply in love with Lucy Westenra (Carolyn Monroe), a girlish and innocent woman with whom, it seems, almost everyone falls in love.

Renfield is quite sane much of the time, but painfully lapses into madness, thanks to the influence of his master, Dracula. When under the Count's malevolent will, Renfield fights against those who seek to destroy his master, most notably Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Don MacEllis), a brilliant scientist with the knowledge that can defeat Dracula, and the beautiful and virtuous Mina Murray (Telisa Steen).

It is Mina's fianc/ Jonathan Harker (Thomas Maier), a solicitor from London, who has the misfortune of conducting a business transaction with the Count. This business allows the Count to relocate to London. Eventually, as victims of vampirism begin to fall before them, Seward, Van Helsing, Murray and Harker conspire against the pure evil within Dracula.

BLT and set designer Nathan Rodda have created a complex and stunning stage that both impresses and overwhelms you.

Multiple locations including the Count's castle, the heroine's bed chambers in London and a dreary asylum for the insane are all depicted on the large stage and engulfing platforms that extend the scenery beyond the usual boundaries of BLT's performance space.

An original music score by Allan Loucks chills you to the bone. Beautiful costumes by Tracie Boyd magically transport you back to the time and place where the evil undead reside. Dave Baldwin provides eerie lighting effects.

Stand-out performances by Ken Holmes as Dracula, Carolyn Monroe as Lucy and Thomas Maier as Harker bring these fascinating characters to life.

Dracula continues through Oct. 14, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., with a special 10 p.m. show on Saturday, Oct. 27. Call BLT at 206- 242-5180 or log onto www.burienlittletheatre.com for tickets and reservations.