Comparison of the book and stage versions of DraculaThe play was very enjoyable. This brought many of the most interesting aspects of the book to life. There were, however, some differences that, upon reading the book, were very obvious to me. However, this modification of the Dracula novel did not diminish my enjoyment of the production of the play. I was very impressed with the special effects and really enjoyed Friday night's play. It started from the beginning. The opening introduction was from Renfield. In the book, Renfield wasn't introduced until more towards the middle. Stephen Dietz, the playwright, used a different notion of time in the play. The novel was rather chronological. Things happened in the order in which they were presented to the reader. However, in the play there were many flashbacks. One such example is Jonathan Harker's stay at Dracula's Castle. This episode opens the book for us, but it was a flashback around the middle of the piece. I think the use of time modification helped the plot of the play move forward better because Dietz could place certain events where they fit best. He also ended the play in a different way: a final monologue from Van Helsing. This differed from the book, as it gave the audience time to calm down, as like the novel, the play came to a conclusion quite quickly. Another obvious difference is that Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood (later Lord Godalming), are not in the play. Dietz probably decided that too many male characters on stage would only confuse the audience. This would have been fine except they (Quincey and Arthur) were both mentioned in the first act. If Dietz had just removed these characters completely, it wouldn't have been so confusing. (Note: Dietz may have thought it necessary to mention Holmwood, because otherwise why would Lucy have refused Dr. Seward when he asked her to marry him. However, there was no need to mention Quincey Morris if he wasn't part of the story).Another difference between the play and the novel is that at the very end, Dracula was finally killed (i.e. staked on him. crossed the heart) by Mina. In the novel she was incapacitated (not decapitated HA) and Harker and Morris killed Dracula..