Blood/Love

This new "Vampire Pop Opera" may just have the most energy and passion of any musical in town.

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Victor Gluck, Editor-in-Chief in Musicals, Off-Broadway, Still Open

Carey Renee Sharpe and Andrew Avila in a scene from Sharpe and Dru DeCaro’s “Blood/Love” at Theater 555 (Photo credit: Matt Murphy)

Blood/Love, the Vampire Pop Opera, may just have the most energy of any musical in town. Dynamic, obsessive and seductive this rock opera is the kind they don’t seem to write any more. This is also a sound and light show that creates its own dazzling environment and does not let you look away from the stage for a moment. Even the lobby and the theater have been redecorated to look like a nightclub in black and red, along with suitable mixed drinks at the bar. Written and composed by two-time Grammy nominee Dru DeCaro and Carey Renee Sharpe who also plays the leading role of Valerie Bloodlove, this has a powerhouse score that submerges you in its sound and catches you in its web.

While the plot is thin and has some unexplained plot points, the endless compulsive score keeps the story pulsing along. Valerie Bloodlove was the Devil’s chosen queen but she pines for the upper regions in the world above. Abandoning Hell, she takes with her his violin as a reminder of her previous life. She finds she is the first vampire which condemns her to the shadows. Along the way she has created her own coven of three with Demetrius, a fashionista, and Cleo, a showgirl. About to celebrate her 1,000 birthday, Val and her cohorts head for their favorite underground club The Crimson although Val is haunted by the feeling that something is missing from her life.

Christopher M. Ramirez and ensemble in a scene from Carey Renee Sharpe and Dru DeCaro’s “Blood/Love” at Theater 555 (Photo credit: Matt Murphy)

There she meets brooding rock star Anzick and they make an immediate connection. She gets him to come back to her abode where after a night of desire she discovers his secret: he has made pact with the Devil for fame and fortune. Val reveals to him her secret as well. Unbeknownst to them, they have made a powerful enemy who sets out to destroy Anzick. Val eventually makes her own sacrifice in order to save his life.

Conducted by Ben Covello also on keyboard, the seven-piece band includes co-composer DeCaro on guitar. Sharpe as Val plays a superb violin as the former queen of hell. The loud rock score is always impressive but the best songs are the diegetic ones (i.e. those sung by the actors in the show within the show): Anzick’s “2 Feet in the Grave” which makes his fans go wild, and Demetrius’ “Walk to Kill” which introduces his fashion show at The Crimson. However, Hunter Bird’s staging of Blood/Love and the co-choreography by Natalie Malotke, Jonathan Platero and Oksana Platero which never seems to stop has a good deal to do with the songs’ effectiveness.

Zephaniah Divine Wages, Carey Renee Sharpe and Brooke Simpson in a scene from Sharpe and Dru DeCaro’s “Blood/Love” at Theater 555 (Photo credit: Matt Murphy)

All of the performers have excellent voices and the show could not be better sung by the cast of 15. While Sharpe as the protagonist is a bit stiff and unbending, she is always commanding center stage. As her coven Demetrius and Cleo are opposites, Zephaniah Divine Wages is laid back while Brooke Simpson, a bundle of energy, is spirited and dynamic. Christopher M. Ramirez as rock star Anzick is a brooding presence, always seeming to be hiding his real feelings. The strong singing and dancing ensemble is led by the three Advocates (Victoria Byrd, Erika Zade and Morgan Reilly at the performance under review) who guide us through the centuries and the story. Sinuous Andrew Avila slithers his way memorably through the role of The Devil with both dance and pantomime but silently.

Visually the show is dazzling: a combination of lights (Japhy Weideman), video (59 Studio), illusions and special effects (Skylar Fox and Daniel Weissglass) projected on Jason Ardizzone-West’s unit set which is both hypnotic and theatrical. Red and black dissolves into green, black and white, then purple, black and white, etc. The spinning video pulls one into its vortex and never lets go. The lobby and vibes designs by Devin Sparkles only adds to the ambiance.

Brooke Simpson and ensemble in a scene from Carey Renee Sharpe and Dru DeCaro’s “Blood/Love” at Theater 555 (Photo credit: Matt Murphy)

Although the Devil and his Queen are dressed in white, the rest of the costumes by Alex and Juli Abene are variations on black, both for the leads and the large chorus. Th club kids’ costumes for the scenes in The Crimson are particular eye-filling. Ardizzone-West’s unit set has various hidden items which make it look continuously different along with the geometrically designed streaming video. While Jessica Paz’s sound design is quite loud, one gets used to it in a rock opera. Blood/Love subtitled “A Vampire Pop Opera” is an exciting production which can rival the rock operas of the past in energy and passion.

Blood/Love (through May 10, 2026)

Theater 555, 555 W. 42^nd Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, call 607-247-8737 ex. 101 or visit http://www.bloodlove.com/tickets/

Running time: 90 minutes without an intermission

About Victor Gluck, Editor-in-Chief (1167 Articles)

Victor Gluck was a drama critic and arts journalist with Back Stage from 1980 – 2006. He started reviewing for TheaterScene.net in 2006, where he was also Associate Editor from 2011-2013, and has been Editor-in-Chief since 2014. He is a voting member of The Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle, the American Theatre Critics Association, and the Dramatists Guild of America. His plays have been performed at the Quaigh Theatre, Ryan Repertory Company, St. Clements Church, Nuyorican Poets Café and The Gene Frankel Playwrights/Directors Lab.