YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Reviews- Page 5

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 10:42pm

Songanddance, you're right...I think Brantley even called it "an event." For me, I think it's the charm of the actors that carries the show.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 10:42pm

"if the stagehands go on strike, how much you wanna bet Mel WILL be getting those premium prices?"

Well, if the advance is actually over $30 million then that means the show is pretty wel sold for the next few months. Mel probably won't start to feel the pressure to do anything about the pricing until the next block of seats go on sale next year sometime.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 10:44pm

where are those premium seats? in the actors dressing rooms lol

Updated On: 11/8/07 at 10:44 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 10:46pm

I think they take up most of the center orchestra -- though if they're any still unsold a few hours before the curtain, you can grab them at the box office for $120 instead of $450.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 10:47pm

Are all the other seats normal broadway prices or are they higher to?

[MinorAdjustments]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 10:48pm

I had a wonderful time at YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN--sue me. Megan Mullaly, Andrea Martin, Shuler Hensley, Christopher Fitzgerald and Fred Applegate were all brilliant, and I was thoroughly entertained. Yes, the songs aren't classics, but they're fun and they do the trick. Roger Bart doesn't have enough of a character to play, as someone pointed out in one of the reviews, his character doesn't so much drive the show as have the show happen, around him. Sutton Foster was adorable and did everything perfectly. The only thing she's missing is inspired comic brilliance, but I'll take her legs and her yodelling any day.

I consider myself a pretty harsh critic, and it's not that I disagree with a lot of the comments. But if the question is, will this show satisfy the audience's hunger for a great big, funny broadway musical comedy, the answer is YES. Will it go down in history with West Side Story, The Music Man, or Gypsy, of course not. But neither will Spamalot, which I didn't enjoy half as much as Young Frankenstein.

I say, go and have fun. Is that so wrong?

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 10:50pm

Glad you had fun at the show

[FutureAladdinOnB'Way]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:16pm

I agree minor! Did the show undergo major changes for the worse, because it doesn't sound at all like the show I saw in Seattle? I and many others thoroughly enjoyed it when it was here...It was a show that had raving buzz here in Seattle, I just don't see how this show, that is being thrashed by critics, is the same show I saw back in August?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:19pm

Newsday is Mixed:

"Is the show - you know the question - funny? Sometimes. But the sweat of competence drives too much of the vintage Brooks humor this time, and the staging by ace director-choreographer Susan Stroman seems more formula than invention. They clobber us with greatest-hits punchlines and repeat the jokes in each musical stanza until we can't always remember why we first loved them. At times, the mugging is so aggressive we feel bruised.....

....Stroman doesn't get to use her dancing chorus much and, when she does, the routines tend to stop the action and feel like filler. So much effort went into finding the look of old Universal horror movies that Robin Wagner's sets - except for the strobe-electrified laboratory - look too much like painted cardboard.

The best of Brooks' score is jaunty pastiche and parody - Cole Porter, Gilbert and Sullivan and, for the still blissfully funny Monster mash, Irving Berlin's "Puttin On the Ritz." But unlike the lyrics from "The Producers," which had an onslaught of throw-away witticisms, many songs are dependent just on those famous jokes. William Ivey Long's costumes have great fun with 1934/Slavic-peasant looks and platform monster boots. Alas, something's wrong in Transylvania when the only thing in stitches is the creature's face."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/stage/ny-etledew5451200nov09,0,2471035.story

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:20pm

I do remember reading a post here that someone got one of those premium seats for regular price right before the show. I wonder how well they are selling. My friend that works for a hotel there said he isn't getting a lot of requests for the show. He said it is still all about Wicked for the most part.

[Mamie]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:21pm

I have absolutely nothing to say about "Young Frankenstein" because I haven't seen it yet and I try not to be too influenced by critics. I'll only mention that when I heard Mel was looking to do another musical (post Producers) there was lots of talk about this film and Blazing Saddles as the source. I just couldn't imagine either films as working on the stage and I really hoped he'd look elsewhere. I still think the one Mel Brooks film that could be used as a BASE for a musical and be hilarious with some new material added was .... High Anxiety. I start laughing just thinking about some of those character breaking into song and dance.

I sincerely hope he rethinks his next Broadway production.

[iluvcioffiiluvtea]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:26pm

The clips for this show were great! I saw a video preview of it this morning and I can't wait to see the show!!

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:31pm

Visually the show looks great. I am a fan of the movie and have seen it several times. I really don't have a great desire to see the stage show. Maybe sometime in the future, but it is not high on my list.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:35pm

What is the lyric that suggests a Blazzing Saddles musical?

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:41pm

neddy, from what I gather it's during the curtain call (kinda like what they did with the "Goodbye" song for THE PRODUCERS). Apparently, one of the lyrics is: "...Maybe next year Blazing Saddles!" That's it.

[DMsquared2]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:43pm

Maybe Mel will learn from this experience and write a completely original musical not based upon one of his films.

[Dirty_Rotten_Guy]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:46pm

neddy, in the curtain call song, which is a play-off of "Together Again For the First Time", they sing something along the lines of "Like ping pong and paddles, maybe next year, Blazing Saddles?". Not exactly what it is, but thats a general idea.

as for the reviews, all of them pretty much seem to say the same thing, and are pretty mixed as i expected. not great for the show, but shouldnt hurt it much at all, in the long run it could though. or not as much the reviews, but the word of mouth could hurt it in the long run. it should still run a few years though.

[Mouses Magic]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:47pm

Mel can not be happy right now...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:48pm

Do you think the internet has allowed more tourist theatregoers to read reviews before they buy tickets or are planning a trip to NYC?
I think WICKED survived and thrived becaue it has great "word of mouth", and it's a better show. let's see if it can happen again.

Updated On: 11/9/07 at 11:48 PM

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 11/8/07 at 11:51pm

Mel can not be happy right now...

I don't know. Mel has said that he's prepared for mixed-to-negative reviews - although he's joked that they'll be that way because the reviewers will want to make him pay for THE PRODUCERS.

But I think he knew exactly what was going to happen. To him, the fact that he thinks the show is good is more than enough.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 11/9/07 at 12:03am

Mostly pans and mixed?
I'm so excited!
Somewhere in heaven, Kathleen Freeman is smiling, and somewhere in NY, David Yasbeck is buying himself a beer.
I won't get started on the Pirate Queen cast/crew's celebrations that must be going on tonight.
Yippie! This is making my night.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/9/07 at 12:07am

Surely Boublil and Schonberg are toasting "the stoopid American" Haha!

[Elphie4ever]

Posted: 11/9/07 at 12:09am

hey i want to make my own review of young frankenstein.
so what is the policy of the lottery for the matinee performance for saturday? anyone? is it crowded by any chance?

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/9/07 at 12:15am

I wonder if Cloris Leachman was there tonight. And if not, what she's thinking right now? (If she has read the reviews)

[DAME]

Posted: 11/9/07 at 12:16am

I had a wonderful time at the show. We got great seats two hours before curtain and at regular price.