Life on 96th
Young Frankenstein
by Stephanie Irvin
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Features
I found out 30 seconds before the Young Frankenstein musical started that my brother Brian hadn't seen the movie on which it was based. It explained why when I said "Blücher!" he didn't neigh accordingly. Moreover, my brother was inexperienced with big musicals. He was limited to screen adaptations and school presentations. After the musical he grinned, saying, "I never would have thought it would be that funny."
Young Frankenstein is unfortunate to follow The Producers into musical theater. The reviews tend to all cry "Not 'The Producers,' wah!" Since I didn't like any version of the latter, I wasn't using it to judge the former. I've seen the Young Frankenstein movie, however, and adore it. Thankfully, my movie-to-musical track record is better than my book-to-movie record. I found the musical quite enjoyable, except for the obligatory love song. In all fairness, I hate most love songs, in or out of musical theater.
My brother loved the casting. Anyone who has seen Will and Grace knows Megan Mullally is already adept at playing a self-absorbed snob, so her success as Elizabeth is no surprise. At first, I wasn't sure how to feel about Roger Bart's almost constantly bemused, semi-smiling Dr. Frankenstein. It worked by adding to the joyous lunacy of the character.
I could tell SFX designer Marc Brickman had worked with the Blue Man group, particularly during the use of strobe lights in Puttin' on the Ritz. He created stilted images where dancers appeared to be suspended in air. The song was not my favorite since I preferred the simplicity of the movie version. My brother loved the show-stopping number. We both enjoyed movie line-into show songs like Frau Blücher's He Vas My Boyfriend, and the blind hermit's Please, Send Me Someone, This sone is used as the intro and outro of the hilarious scene where he blissfully tried to entertain the monster, inadvertently setting his thumb on fire.
My brother left saying he wants to see more musical comedies. What should we go to next? During the company bow the cast sang "maybe next year, 'Blazing Saddles?'" That would be interesting.
Young Frankenstein is unfortunate to follow The Producers into musical theater. The reviews tend to all cry "Not 'The Producers,' wah!" Since I didn't like any version of the latter, I wasn't using it to judge the former. I've seen the Young Frankenstein movie, however, and adore it. Thankfully, my movie-to-musical track record is better than my book-to-movie record. I found the musical quite enjoyable, except for the obligatory love song. In all fairness, I hate most love songs, in or out of musical theater.
My brother loved the casting. Anyone who has seen Will and Grace knows Megan Mullally is already adept at playing a self-absorbed snob, so her success as Elizabeth is no surprise. At first, I wasn't sure how to feel about Roger Bart's almost constantly bemused, semi-smiling Dr. Frankenstein. It worked by adding to the joyous lunacy of the character.
I could tell SFX designer Marc Brickman had worked with the Blue Man group, particularly during the use of strobe lights in Puttin' on the Ritz. He created stilted images where dancers appeared to be suspended in air. The song was not my favorite since I preferred the simplicity of the movie version. My brother loved the show-stopping number. We both enjoyed movie line-into show songs like Frau Blücher's He Vas My Boyfriend, and the blind hermit's Please, Send Me Someone, This sone is used as the intro and outro of the hilarious scene where he blissfully tried to entertain the monster, inadvertently setting his thumb on fire.
My brother left saying he wants to see more musical comedies. What should we go to next? During the company bow the cast sang "maybe next year, 'Blazing Saddles?'" That would be interesting.
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