YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Out Of Town Tryout Reviews- Page 2

[whatever2]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 10:35am

i saw the producers try out in chicago ... i thought it got favorable notices?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 11:20am

I'm pretty sure THE PRODUCERS received raves out of town.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 12:09pm

That review was a lot better than most opening night reviews in New York papers. Excellent review that really kept in mind that this is a work in progress. Sad to see that Bart, Mullally, and Foster--all three incredibly reliable actors--didn't make the cut for the critic though hopefully they'll hone in their performances with time.
I think that what we can hope is that Brooks isn't satisfied with selling the show merely on his name--or the cast--but that he and the rest of the creative team do everything possible to make this a first-rate show.

[kelsck]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 1:40pm

My sister and I attended a preview two weeks ago, and then went again last night. While on the one hand I agree with the Seattle Times review, on the other hand we both found it perfectly easy to ignore the flaws and needs-improvements of the show and enjoy it for what it is…an adorable, madcap musical comedy. Being a fan of the movie, I thought it was fun to see all the clever jokes revived on stage where they pack a more powerful punch (and the embellishments on some of the old jokes are hilarious!). My sister never saw the movie and found everything fresh and entertaining – I recommend seeing the show with someone who doesn’t know the material, so you can see it through their eyes as well.

Like other shows, YF is all about how you approach it: if you go expecting to criticize things, you’ll find plenty of negatives. But you’ll be entertained if you go with the mind to see a silly homage to the film with songs that are ridiculously catchy – if you allow yourself to be caught.

And the Stranger has a YF “fact sheet” with comparisons to the Producers here: http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/08/facts_about_young_frankenstein

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 2:03pm

"Percentage of the net profits of Young Frankenstein that belong to Mel Brooks, according to the New York Post: 24.

Percentage of the net profits of Phantom of the Opera that belong to Andrew Lloyd Webber, according to the same source: 12."

What kind of point is this person trying to make?

Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted Gaston Leroux's property for the musical, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Webber co-wrote the musical's book, and wrote the music. Charles Hart wrote the lyrics.

Mel Brooks adapted his own hit movie that he wrote and co-produced. He co-wrote the book for the musical, he wrote the music, and he wrote the lyrics.

It's understandable that Brooks would get a whole lot more than Webber does from PHANTOM simply because of the fact that Brooks wrote the source material for YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.

Updated On: 8/24/07 at 02:03 PM

[pab]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 2:38pm

"It's understandable that Brooks would get a whole lot more than Webber does from PHANTOM simply because of the fact that Brooks wrote the source material for YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN."

And the fact that Phantom is crap. IMO.

Updated On: 8/24/07 at 02:38 PM

[tomemiller]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 3:13pm

Let us not forget that it was Gene Wilder who thought up the idea and created the first draft of "Young Frankenstein". The final script was was a collaborative effort between Wilder and Brooks. I wonder how much of the profits Wilder will receive or how much Brooks paid for the entire rights???
Updated On: 8/24/07 at 03:13 PM

[leefowler]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 6:57pm

The Variety review is up..Mostly a rave.

[WickedForever2]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 7:02pm

"Like other shows, YF is all about how you approach it: if you go expecting to criticize things, you’ll find plenty of negatives. But you’ll be entertained if you go with the mind to see a silly homage to the film with songs that are ridiculously catchy – if you allow yourself to be caught."

I couldn't agree more. And I have a feeling it will continue to get mixed reviews since a lot of people seem to want to see it fail because Mel's got quite the name for himself. But it's a solid evening of entertainment, so I'm a happy camper.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 7:11pm

Indicating a 1929 Irving Berlin song as the indisputable high point of "Young Frankenstein" might sound like a slap to the otherwise original numbers in Mel Brooks' new musical. But it's entirely fitting that the most vaudevillian of contemporary American showmen, with his unabashed love of hoary humor and old-fashioned shtick, should find his greatest inspiration in a vintage source. The expansion of "Puttin' on the Ritz" from a single-joke vignette in the film to an elaborate, full-cast showstopper is also the most dazzling example of Brooks and Co.'s craftsmanship in reanimating pre-existing material with fresh musical life.


The new show doesn't scale the same dizzying comic heights, but "Young Frankenstein" is a big, boisterous entertainment stuffed with laughs and spectacle. Like the eponymous monster brought winningly to life here by Shuler Hensley, the show walks, talks, sings, dances and charms in the Seattle tryout that precedes its Nov. 8 Broadway opening. But at 2¾ hours, it needs to step out from its maker's shadow, receive a couple more volts of electricity and go on a diet before hitting New York.


Megan Mullally as Frederick's "adorable madcap fiancee," Elizabeth, is a self-worshipping WASP tart, mixing old Hollywood with traces of Karen Walker that fit just fine. She appears early with "Please Don't Touch Me," amusingly conveying her frigid feelings for Fred while clearly having serviced most of Park Avenue. Mullally returns with two delicious numbers in act two: "Surprise," in which she arrives unexpectedly to find Frederick and Inga entwined on the lab slab; and "Deep Love," in which some rough handling by the monster transforms her into a rhapsodic size queen with instant Elsa Lanchester gray shock streaks

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934491.html?categoryid=1265&cs=1

Updated On: 8/24/07 at 07:11 PM

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 11:54pm

"Listen to your Heart" is not the weakest number, by far.

[n2005]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 9:49am

Here is some more:
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070825/ENT/108250011

http://seattlest.com/2007/08/24/thats_young_fro.php

http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/story/140907.html

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/theater/328954_frankenstein25q.html?source=mypi

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 6:14pm

All four reviews are full out raves.

Like “The Producers” – which won 12 Tony Awards, the most ever for a single production, and ran for six years on Broadway, making it the longest-running musical comedy in history – “Young Frankenstein” is a rewrite of a film by Brooks, the 1974 hit film of the same name starring Gene Wilder.
-The News Tribune

Is THE PRODUCERS really the longest-running musical comedy in history? I had never heard that before.

The other leading roles are all played by Broadway, film and television stalwarts. Getting top billing along with Bart is Megan Mullally as Elizabeth, but the other leading lady, Sutton Foster as Inga, actually has a larger part. Foster, who has handled such demanding roles as Eponine in “Les Misérables” and Millie in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” on Broadway, shines most beautifully here in her yodeling on the hayride song “Roll in the Hay.”
-The News Tribune

It's interesting that this reviewer says that Foster's role is larger than Mullally. I'm sure Mullally will be considered Leading come Tony time since (presumably?) she will be above the title, but I can see the Drama Desks switching it up, as they did in many circumstances this past season.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 6:15pm

THE STRANGER is an alternative newspaper that comes out weekly. Not the audience that Young Frankenstein is going for. They tend to hate everything that's not either outlandishly perverse or overly artistic. Young Frankenstein just isn't their cup of tea, and anyone from Seattle could have told you that last year when the show announced the previews in Seattle. (they also reviewed a preview, not a performance)

Misha Berson's smart review in the Seattle Times would be a much more typical reaction from a New York critic. She's knows her stuff and gets most everything right. It'll be trimmed even more for Broadway, I'm sure. They've got a month of downtime and then another month of previews. It'll be fixed (and there's not even that much wrong with it!!).

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 6:59pm

I would think that Sutton does get a slight edge on Megan because Megan is almost absent from the first act.

EDIT: Can we please cut "Join the Family Business" and keep "Alone"? It's short and Megan RIPS IT UP.

Updated On: 8/25/07 at 06:59 PM