Young Frankenstein London Cast Recording on iTunes

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Young Frankenstein London Cast Recording on iTunes

Posted: 8/10/18 at 3:20pm

A live London cast recording of Young Frankenstein got a relatively quiet release on iTunes this week. I haven't seen a press release on any of the sites but maybe I missed it. I have to say I find some of the changes baffling. I enjoyed the original opening number "The Happiest Town in Town" and especially "Life, Life" which I thought was one of Mel's more beautiful melodies. Why in the world did that get cut? The album was recorded live so perhaps it sounds a bit more lively than the pristine studio recording of the original Broadway cast, but overall I think I still prefer the Broadway leads and the material they were given over this new incarnation. Still fun to hear a new take on it though.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mel-brooks-young-frankenstein-original-london-cast/1423700525

Updated On: 8/10/18 at 03:20 PM

Young Frankenstein London Cast Recording on iTunes

Posted: 8/10/18 at 6:43pm

‘Young Frankenstein’ is a tricky show. I can see why they made these changes but it’s just never really going to come together. The London production is wonderful, the smaller more Vaudevillian styled set and casting really helps focus things but it’s not enough.

I think of the biggest issues is that there is as much Wilder in the material as Brooks and whilst Gene Wilder was a complete and utter comedic genius, the style he employed in his films doesn’t translate well to the stage. Brooks is Vaudeville all over and his gags can be played smaller on screen or cranked up so they hit the back row and they still land. Playing ‘Young Frankenstein’ at such a heightened level undermines much of the material. So much of the movie works because visually it’s such a loveing parody of the genre, you can’t employ any of the old Hollywood tropes and techniques on stage that they did so brilliantly in the movie, the black and white, the fade outs, the transitions, the set ups of shots etc.

And much of the film is funny because it was tailored specifically to the cast. Telling someone to beware of the stairs because ‘They are treacherous’ isn’t a gag on paper but very funny when delivered by Cloris Leachman. On stage, camp it up as much as you like but it’s still not funny on paper, it was just a perfect marriage of material and actor in the original.

Young Frankenstein London Cast Recording on iTunes

Posted: 8/11/18 at 1:30pm

I agree the vaudevillian aspects work really well. I would imagine some of the Gene Wilder stuff plays better in the more intimate London theatre than it did on Broadway. I'm enjoying the London cast more on repeated listenings, but in the same way that I missed the movie cast when I first heard the Broadway cast recording, I find myself missing the Broadway leads as I listen to the London cast album. And I just can't forgive cutting "Life, Life." It sounds like that whole sequence plays through at a very fast pace now and probably keeps the first act from dragging a bit but that melody was beautiful. It's even missing from the overture. I assume this will become the new licensed version and that's kind of a shame.

Young Frankenstein London Cast Recording on iTunes

Posted: 8/12/18 at 1:19pm

The gags are just as bad in a smaller house

Young Frankenstein London Cast Recording on iTunes

Posted: 8/12/18 at 9:04pm

I'm a HUGE Brooks fan, but I didn't care for this show in London either. To me, the English cast was lacking that Borscht Belt/Vaudeville style of Brooks and were substituting and English Music Hall/Panto comedy style.

I thought a lot of the cuts were smart and moved the show along faster since "Happiest Town in Town" was just a bland excuse for a big opening number.

There was one ensemble member (clearly the Frederick u/s based on his looks and mustache) who regularly made me laugh, but he was the only one.

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