Composed 8/9/07
Last night I was privileged to be a part of musical theater history. It was the second night of previews for Mel Brooks' post-Producers musical adaptation of his movie "Young Frankenstein." It was an evening of firsts for me. First pre-Broadway run of a show. First time seeing name performers from Cd's or DVDs I actually own (i.e. Roger Bart, Megan Mullally, Sutton Foster, and Andrea Martin). The first time I've ever heard a set piece receive applause. And the first time I've seen a standing ovation in the middle of the show. Young Frankenstein has a perfect combination of intelligence and 13-year-old-boy booby humor which made the movie a classic. Mel Brooks was quoted in a The Stranger as saying this show won't win as many Tony's as Producers, but it's more fun. I would tend to agree, simply because we seem reluctant to give "serious" awards like the Tonys to a show that is so consistently hilarious from start to finish if it doesn't have a pointed satirical edge. That said, due to the timeless nature of the music and story, if this show's tenure on Broadway isn't longer than the 5 year run of The Producers, I'd be quite surprised.
I would also be very surprised if Megan Mullally didn't receive a Best Supporting Actress nod (and possibly the win, it's early in the season...) for her role as socialite Elizabeth. While it would seem to be a character awfully close to her Karen role from Will & Grace, Ms. Mullally has created a woman whose smokey voice and stern posturing present a refined woman of culture...who happens to love a good roll in the hay with anyone besides her fiance, Frederick Frankenstein.
Tony consideration should also be given to Christopher Fritzgerald, whose elastic Vaudevillian body movements and endearing cartoonish Igor help introduce Dr. Frankenstein to the wacky world of Transylvania Heights and are solid through the entire show.
Sutton Foster is excellent as Inga, fluctuating between ditzy and intelligent as circumstances changed, but always sincere, heartfelt and believable. Though her part seemed to be there as much as was needed for the story, I personally was hoping for more Ms. Foster time, but was proud of the Tony award winning lead actress who let herself fill a supporting role simply for the obvious joy of being in such a wonderful show.
Shuler Hensley is a fine comic actor and impressive dancer. He has probably one of the hardest parts in the show, in that his character is essentially mute for 95% of the time. Couple that with 5 pounds of green make up and latex, and it's a wonder anyone is able to convey emotions. But he does. And then to have to perform the 5+ minute show stopper "Putting on the Ritz" takes amazing performance chops.
Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher (insert horse neigh here) steals every scene she's in and garners applause on every exit like I've only ever seen before by Carmen Ghia in "The Producers."
And speaking of Carmen Ghia, Roger Bart as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein is a perfect fit for the role. His range from manic yelps to desperate quivers remind us of Gene Wilder's performance while making Roger's performance distinctly his own. The only problem is we've kind of seen it before. His Frankenstein is a smart, straight Carmen Ghia. This doesn't take away from the strength and perfection in the role, I just think he has more to offer. Like Bill Irwin in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?" I think a serious drama could earn Bart a Tony.
The songs are a lot of fun with some pretty tight word play and innuendo throughout. The big dancy chorus numbers are the show opener "The Happiest Town in Town," the dream sequence "Join the Family Business," the act one closer "Transylvania Mania" and the show stopper mid-Act Two "Putting on the Ritz." The score (as well as costumes) really plays up the traditional Eastern European environment, even with the between-the-scenes instrumentals. The combination of Brooks' classic sounding music and Stroman's traditional stage style dancing create a timeless-ness which is well integrated into the show. I've read a critique that too many of the chorus dances look the same, and while that wasn't ringing in my head when I left the show, I would tend to agree. But, to be fair, there are portions of the score which are really familiar to Producers fans so I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Elizabeth's songs are hilarious and great because they're dirty. Her opener, "Please Don't Touch Me" and final song "Deep Love" and even her now cut number "Alone" suggest a woman who loves being in control and just can't get enough but is too polite (until ravaged by the Monster) to say so.
Poor Sutton Foster has only two songs, one of which is a sweet love ballad, "Listen to Your Heart" the other is "Roll in the Hay" which I think was a cute funny song but there was so much going on that kept the audience laughing, I missed most of the lyrics. Which I couldn't tell was a problem in a comedy or not. I guess I can always get the CD...
Speaking of laughter, I'd have to say this is by far the funniest thing I've ever seen on stage. By the time Intermission came around, my friend turned to me and said "I peed 7 times already." Partially due to the fact that the audience obviously knew 3/4ths of the script and was waiting for the punchlines, there was rarely a period where the laughs weren't coming. Even the quiet moments in ballads were punctuated by sniggering due to the lyrics, or the choreography. Very few jokes fell flat and in reviewing things that could be changed to improve and tighten up the show there are a few jokes that rocked the audience, but should unfortunately probably go as they do only take up space and don't forward the story.
Which brings me to this show's flaws, which aren't many, but should really be worked on. The overbearing problem is the length of the first act. I haven't read any of the press from last night's (8/22/07) premiere but if major changes haven't been made, I'd be surprised if they didn't mention this as well. The pacing for act one is pretty tight and doesn't lag...but it just keeps...on...going. After an amazing spectacle in the laboratory where Frederick, Igor, Inga, and Frau Bleucher bust out with "Life, Life" while the amazing set has lights and electricity shooting everywhere and platforms raising into the air, there's still 20 more minutes of business to take care of. Including a big dance number ("Transylvania Mania") which could easily be the Act Two opener rather than (kind of) the Act One closer 15 minutes too late. They have since cut the second Elizabeth number "Alone" where she calls from Manhattan with a fabulous number that just comes at point where it slows everything down. Moving "Transylvania Mania" could probably help trim, or even be combined with "He's Loose" which currently opens Act Two and is mainly and impressive run through of forest sets that's otherwise a little too close to the mob scenes in "Beauty and Beast."
On mentioning that show, I should give another compliment to the Frankenstein set designer. In "Beast" you can honestly watch the money trickle through the producers fingers on spectacles like "Be Our Guest" in a way that makes you just wave and say "bye bye money." In "Frankenstein" you can see that a lot of money was spent, but spent effectively in a way that overwhelms and impresses rather than just helps you understand why your ticket was so expensive. The "Roll in the Hay" number happens on the cart ride to the castle and consists of two wide columns filling the majority of the stage except for darkness directly in front of the cart. Once the horses start moving, the dark scary trees on the columns begin moving past the cart and you really feel like your progressing down a dark path. That was when the audience actually applauded at the set itself. There was also a moment in "The Family Business" where it literally looked like the entire stage was shaking. I have NO idea how they did that, but wow. Hopefully another Tony nom and win for this show.
Back to it's flaws. I've never been a fan of Brooks' ballads, and "Someone," the song by the lonely, blind hermit is probably my least favorite. Mostly because it feels too easy. Brooks knew that a song belongs in that otherwise hilarious scene. And he's right. But this one is a simple homage to boring "I Want" ballads that feels like it was written on a cocktail napkin simply to fulfill the needs of a song being there. And then the call-back to it in the final scene wasn't that funny either.
Which brings me to my final point of necessary changes. The last scene needs a lot of work. Once the villagers have ransacked the castle, calling for the Dr. and the Monster's heads, then they all go out to the village square where everyone can gather for the final events. Not only is the scene change not necessary (cause pretty much everyone is in the laboratory in the scene before) but returning to the setting of two other company dance numbers would seem to imply that a big finale is coming up, when really it's just a clunky method to have everyone on stage to witness and react as everyone's storylines wrap up SUPER quick after a lot of that development should've been spread out over 2 1/2 hours (or at least the last 30 minutes). It feels almost like centuries old farces where secret identities are revealed and everyone's OK with everyone else despite being enemies only moments before. And don't get me started on the stupid Dracula joke. It's unfortunate that the weakest and least funny scene comes at the end of an amazing powerhouse of a comedy. I don't think it's impossible to fix, but definitely needs the most work.
Other than that, a blog I read stated that the Dr. Frankenstein in "Join the Family Business" bares little resemblance to the asshole described in "He Vas My Boyfriend" and also that "Family Business" (which features a dance line of Frankenstein's ancestors) would be stronger if the family members wore different doctor's costumes through the ages rather than scrubs for boys and naughty nurse outfits for the women. I would agree with that critique as well.
All in all, I can't recommend this show enough and if you're not fortunate enough to catch the sold out run in Seattle or get to Broadway any time soon, I would recommend getting the soundtrack as soon as it's out. With all of it's flaws, which aren't that many, the best part of the show is that it's fun. The melodies are catchy, the characters are lovable, and the spectacle is amazing. It's no Company or Cabaret but it doesn't try to be. It's exactly what Mel Brooks wanted: a wonderful night that reminds us of a time when people used to get dressed up to see a Broadway Production and really do the whole night up. Because it's not just a show, it's an experience. An experience no one should miss.
