LimelightMike's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Review

PREFACE:

On January 7th of 2004, my father and I went down to the St. James Theatre to see a little show called THE PRODCUERS. Unbeknownst to me, it was going to turn out to be an incredible afternoon of laughs, laughs, and more laughs - thanks to the comedic genius of Mel Brooks, a clever boook penned by Mr. Brooks and Thomas Meehan, tuneful score by Mr. Brooks, and grandiose choreography and well-crafted direction from Ms. Susan Stroman (Oh yeah, and these two guys named Lane and Broderick. They did a fairly decent job. I think they have great careers ahead of 'em.) You read it here first! It marked the first show my father and I had ever seen (on Broadway) together, where it was just the two of us enjoying each other's company, etc., etc. So, when I first heard rumblings of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN being adapted for the stage, I was chomping at the bit, and couldn't wait to garner a pair of tickets ... no matter WHAT the cost. So, come August 17th of this year, after having waited several days to think, re-think, re-re-think, and think some more final, conclusive thoughts, I went on Tocketmaster and made a purchase totaling $736.15 for Wednesday, November the 28th - 20 days after the official opening night performance. And there I was, with eagerness and anticipation, counting down the days, tossing the critical receptions to the side, and readying myself for a night of good ole theatrical mischief and mayhem...


THEATRE REVIEW: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
"Together Again for the First Time ... Again"

It's not everyday you’re given the chance to go out and enjoy “a monster, mega-hit musical comedy”...

I sat on the edge of my seat throughout the entire performance. I was enthralled by all aspects. A cast of extraordinary talent, led by the charming (and hilarious) Roger Bart, who I feel has truly 'found himself' in the role of Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, great grandson of the (not-so) dearly departed, Victor von Frankenstein, and the utterly uproarious and enchanting Megan Mullally (of WILL & GRACE fame) as his sulty, tough-to-please (don't-touch-me) lover Elizabeth. The entire company deserves a collective nod of recognition and great esteem for all their efforts, delivering a top-notch performance from the opening moments of the opening number to the side-splitting, “all’s-well-that-ends-well” of a finale.

I knew that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN was going to be a delight, with a giddy ensemble of townsfolk, praising the Heavens for having rid them of 'the crazy man in the castle'. From the opening moments, I knew that I was set and ready for an adventure. Every character that graced the stage served a purpose, adding more depth (and more importantly, Brooksian humor) to the story, piling on more knee-slappin' good fun for this fella, with splashy, Stro-ified production numbers to boot ("Transylvania Mania" and "Puttin' on the Ritz" among my favorites). Special attention must be paid to the supporting cast. More specifically, Christopher Fitzgerald (whom I adore, by the by) as hysterical, hunchback henchman Igor, the lovely and oh-so-leggy Sutton Foster, Fredrick's blonde bombshell-slash-lab assistant Inga, the killer baritone that is Shuler Hensley as the big, BIG, green Monster, the delightful Fred (What a freakin' voice that man has!) Applegate, doubling as Inspector Kemp and The Blind Hermit, and of course, the legendary Ms. Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher *NEIGH*. I could see myself in a few roles. Aside from the obvious choice of Dr. Frankenstein, who I know I would have a ball playing ... if only for the 'roll in the hay' 8 times a week with Ms. Foster, I think I would enjoy sinking my teeth into the featured role of Igor, it looks so, so much fun to prance about in such a way and get laughs ... and deservedly so!

After "Join the Family Business", the big song-and-dance number performed wonderfully by Kevin Ligon (as the ever-present Victor) and members of the company, they hit the 'button', we went on to applaude and cheer, and all of the sudden, the voice of God rang over the loud speaker with: "Ladies and gentlemen, we're experiencing some technical difficulites. We hope to have everything fixed in matter of minutes. Thank you." So, the scrim came down (which looked stunning!), and we were left in the dark for a good 7-10 minutes. Assuming everything was fixed, the orchestra came in blaring with the last few bars of the song, and Roger Bart as Fredrick (having a nightmare) goes: "I'm not a Frankenstein, I'm not! I'm not - I don't wanna, no, no!" He's woken by Inga who asks "What's wrong, Doctor?" and without missing a beat, Roger responds with: "Oh God, I was having a nightmare... I was in the middle of a Broadway show ... and there was this problem, and this big, booming voice said I wasn't allowed to finish. I WASN'T ALLOWED TO FIIIIIIINNNIIIISSSSH!" - which, in turn, got a super-huge laugh and applause 'cause improv is a such a wonderful, wonderful thing in these parts.

Truth be told, I fell in love with more than a few of the musical numbers. “Life, Life” being one of them, stands out as one of those ‘in your face’ kind of numbers, where vocals (and, of course, massive pyrotechnics) were really able to shine. I also enjoyed “Roll in the Hay”, a truly charming tune that kept a smile on my face (greatly attributed to the many talents of Sutton Foster). I think that my favorite song to come out of the show was “Please Send Me Someone”. Aside from the fact that I’m a big fan of Fred Applegate's work as a vocalist, I feel that the song itself is a winning piece of Mr. Brooks’ orchestral and lyrical prowess (as grand or minimal as you may like to think of it).

Don't listen to the haters out there, who can't find it within themselves to truly appreciate a masterfully-crafted piece of theatrical splendor. As far as I’m concerned, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN amounts to two hours and forty-five minutes of freshness - full of an incomparable zest, vigor, and warmth – that Broadway hasn’t accurately felt in a long while.

I stopped by the stage door on West. 43rd, and had the pleasure of meeting Shuler, Fred, Andrea and Megan - Roger, Chris, and Sutton didn't come out, but hey, I can't complain, right? I did, after all, get 4 out of the 7 to sign my playbills. After the curtain call, the company took a bow together, and in-turn, couldn't shut us up. (We had an AMAZING audience last night!), yahooing and yipping about. Then, Roger Bart went on to thank us for being so wonderful and receptive, gave the .98 of each $1 going to Mel Brooks remark (which garnered a chuckle from yours truly, having known about it ahead of time) and then (as the icing on the cake), he said: "Oh, and to all of you Broadway freaks out there *beat* I'm just assuming here, buuuuut *long pause* stirke's over!" It was at *that* moment that the Hilton Theatre EXPLODED with cheers and hugs and never-ending applause (from the house AND those onstage). It was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. It was a celebration all in itself for theatre freaks, I was greatly humbled to have been a part of that 'sole moment in time', and I surely wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Something truly, truly magical.

I feel immensely fortunate having been able to experience the many joys of a Mel Brooks score, with an original concept conceived by Mr. Brooks and Gene Wilder (via the 1974 feature), awe-inspiring choreography (Susan Stroman)), beautiful lighting (Peter Kaczorowski) and set design (Robin Wagner), all of which is intertwined in a laugh-a-minute book (Mr. Brooks and Thomas Meehan) that, without a shadow of a doubt, will always keep you rolling the, well, hay, and begging for more...

Love to mY BWW Family, as always.

Best,
- Mike

Ditto, pab. I don't know what show you saw, Mike, but I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I wanted to gouge my eyes out.

Mike, you gave me hope for this show now..thank you.

I am glad you liked it Mike.
Was it a sell out crowd? Do you know what the cancellation lines were like?

Excellent review. I agree with a lot of what you said and feel that a lot of the reviews, professional and otherwise are tainted by resentment towards Mel Brooks for having the gall to charge $450 for some of the seats. I had a similar situation when I went to show as it was a 60th birthday present for my father who is mildly obsessed with the original film. I had a lot of fun and so did both of my parents. To paraphrase The Drowsy Chaperone, isn't that the point of a show- to take you to another world and have fun with it?

I'm a fan of Brooks charging $450 for the 30-odd primo seats.

A fan of the show I'm not.

I saw YF on Tuesday night and also enjoyed it alot more than I thought I would and will definitely plan to see it again.
One full row was vacant (3rd row, center), but other than that, it appeared pretty full.
My only two problems with the show were----it took about 20 minutes to get going (IMO)--but once it did---I loved it---the performers, the staging, the effects, even many of the numbers.
My other problem was (this is embarassing)---I started to get a bit motion-sick watching "Roll in the Hay". I had to avert my eyes until it was over (altho' I thought it was a cute number).
I LOVED Christopher Fitzgerald's performance! I really didn't realize that Megan M. had such a powerful voice. And---I really enjoyed Shuler H's deep voice---which, unfortunately, you only get to appreciate once. But---again--I enjoyed this show and will go again.

Thanks so much for your feedback, guys!
It's greatly, greatly appreciated!

Oh, you'd be surprised...

Hey, Mike (or should I write "hay", Mike)

Thanks for putting us readers in your seat and describing what a great experience it was for you and your dad!

I saw the show right before it opened and also enjoyed it. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. Fun, silly, tuneful, yet still was able to keep the story moving forward. As you said--"an Adventure". I was never bored, nor confused.

Not the greatest thing I've seen by far, but so far it worked for me. And certainly the audience I saw it with...

Thanks again for your thoughtful critique.

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Well, as you can imagine... I'm partial to MONSTER humor...

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Half the jerks who bash this show haven't even seen it. It is a wonderful, joyful, funny evening. A treat for Brooks fans. I find the score miles better than his for The Producers. The scenes from the film lend themselves perfectly to song.

You spent over $700 on that show?