It vas a dark and stormy night in Transylvania … Actually, the weather in Cleveland that day was quite nice. On Oct. 18 I went to see Mel Brooksí musical ìYoung Frankenstein” at the Palace Theatre. Having seen it on Broadway two years ago, I knew I had to see it again, and it didnít disappoint.
Diehard fans of the movie, released in 1974, will recognize several lines and hilarious moments in the musical. Even with the raunchy lyrics, lewd humor and provocative choreography, there were still many children in the audience. And although many of the jokes probably went over their heads, even they were laughing alongside† their parents.
The creative genius behind ìYoung Frankenstein,” Mel Brooks isnít the only person the musical has in common with the record-breaking Broadway production ìThe Producers.” ìYoung Frankenstein” shares director and choreographer Susan Stroman, set designer Robin Wagner and costume designer Wiliam Ivey Long with ìThe Producers.”
Three original members of the Broadway cast join the traveling edition to delight their audiences. Roger Bart (ìThe Producers,” ìYouíre a Good Man Charlie Brown”), Shuler Hensley (ìTarzan,” ìOklahoma”) and Cory English (ìHello Dolly,” ìGuys and Dolls”) pick up their original roles from Broadway as Dr. Frankenstein, The Monster and Igor, respectively. The stage dynamic between these three characters allowed them to improv a little and they worked well together.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein ó thatís ìfronk-en-stein” ó is reluctant at first to take up the family business of creating monsters. However, he gives in to persuasions from his bubbly, humpbacked assistant Igor and creates his first monster. The Monster is an endearing character despite having very little dialogue until the end, and the audience canít help but root for him as he evades the angry villagers.
The scene that garnered the most laughs was without a doubt ìPuttiní on the Ritz,” a number that† invokes the play-within-a-play motif. Dr. Frankenstein shows the audience of townspeople that the Monster is a misunderstood creature that doesnít mean them any harm. The act was ìSuper duper!”
Despite the laughs and my overall enjoyment of the traveling version of ìYoung Frankenstein,” the musical did have its downfalls. Unfortunately Megan Mullally, most known for her role as Karen in ìWill & Grace,” was unable to return to her role as Elizabeth, Dr. Frankenstein’s fiance. Beth Curry takes on the role, and does it well but seems to be lacking the same va-va-voom as Mullally.
In the finale when a vampire comes to Transylvania looking to relocate a joke is made about a sequel titled ìThe Son of Frankenstein” before the curtain closes and the cast takes their bows to a standing ovation. Even though the audience knows that line is thrown in as a joke, I think a sequel with the same creators and comedic genius as ìYoung Frankenstein” would not be too far-fetched an idea.
While ìYoung Frankenstein” is no longer playing in Cleveland, you can still catch the production in Columbus at the Ohio Theatre from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1.