"Young Frankenstein" Review - Hilton Theatre, NYC

Photo Credit: Playbill

by Kathryn Durfee
04/20/2008

"Young Frankenstein" has been considered one of comic icon Mel Brooks' best films since its release in 1974. The stage musical, now playing on Broadway, stays true to the black-and-white classic comedy, and though this loyalty to the original script may be the reason it fails to reach its full potential, "Young Frankenstein" succeeds in "puttin' on the Ritz."

Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan have updated Gene Wilder's original script for the stage production directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. This is the second collaboration for the trio; their 2001 "The Producers" won 12 Tony awards. The stage production of "Young Frankenstein" offers lots of laughs and plenty of spectacle, following Brooks' typical vaudevillian fare. At over two hours long and featuring 20 different songs, "Young Frankenstein" leaps from gag to gag, bombarding the audience with jokes and musical numbers, almost to the point of exhaustion. However, the large ensemble cast keeps the tracks from blending into one another and saves the musical from becoming overwhelming.

Nearly every character is given a focal song, mostly by way of introduction. Most of the songs have a throwaway feel to them; they are clearly meant to keep the audience laughing, not to become lasting pieces of music. To guarantee that the viewer will keep laughing, a majority of the songs are expansions of one-liners from the film. For example, we meet Frederick's irresistible lab assistant Inga with "Roll in the Hay," an impressive number that takes place on a horse-drawn wagon and features yodeling. For the performance I attended, lead actress Sutton Foster ("Thoroughly Modern Millie") was replaced by her understudy Christina Marie Norrup.

Likewise, Frau Blucher gets the spotlight for her song "He Vos My Boyfriend," which humorously recounts her relationship with the late Dr. Frankenstein as she straddles a chair. Andrea Martin finds the comedic heart of Blucher in exaggeration. At one point, Igor turns to Frederick and says "That was a lot of information."

The role of Elizabeth (realized in the film by Madeline Kahn and played on stage by Megan Mullally of "Will & Grace" fame), is expanded and given three innuendo-filled songs, "Don't Touch Me," which finds Mullally screaming the chorus of "Tits!" while being pushed around the stage on a moving staircase, "Suprise," and "Deep Love," which follows her rendez-vous with the monster. Apparently size does matter to this Park Avenue girl.

Shuler Hensley (previously seen in "Oklahoma!") plays Frankenstein's monster and though he spends most of the first act stumbling about and moaning, Hensley's talent is showcased in the musical's feature piece "Puttin' On The Ritz." For this number, Stroman pulls out all of the stops. The tap-dancing duo of Frankenstein and his monster are joined by a handful of tuxedoed tappers as the number, a relatively short scene in the film, expands to include strobe lights and heavy beats provided by the tappers' canes. Though a bit over the top, "Puttin' on the Ritz" is certainly the most memorable song of the production.

Though Roger Bart has been cast as Frederick, his understudy Jon Patrick Walker took over for the performance I attended. Bart has received criticism for seeming disconnected to the role and being unable to compete with the loudness and flashiness of the rest of the production. This is not the case for Walker, making me wonder why he is stuck in the role of understudy. Wilder has left Walker some pretty big shoes to fill, but Walker rises to the challenge and creates a Frederick that retains both the cynicism and the zaniness of the reluctant doctor. The script also allows for nods to the audience, showing that this is not a play that is meant to be taken seriously, but is instead a fun romp on the stage. For example, after waking from a dream sequence in which his ancestors try to convince him to "Join the Family Business," Frederick exclaims, "My ancestors are crazy! But boy can they dance."

The role of Igor, realized by the unique and irreplaceable Marty Feldman in the film, is here played by Christopher Fitzgerald, a very talented singer and comedic actor. Without trying, Fitzgerald's Igor stole the show. Yes, he is given the funny lines -- "It was Abby-something, I'm sure of it," -- but his movement and delivery is what makes the portrayal priceless. The scene of him dropping the genius brain and then having to tell Frederick that he gave him an abnormal brain won the most laughs of the evening, and for good reason.

Needless to say, "Young Frankenstein" banks on the audience's anticipation of the movie's famous one-liners. Director Stroman and writers Brooks and Meehan know they already have the laughs, so the gags are pushed to their limits here. I would rather have seen more expansions on the basic plot instead of just stretching old jokes, but it's hard to complain when the source material is so close to perfect. This does do a disservice to the talented cast, placing them in more of a revival than their own opportunity to create lovable characters.

Fans of the film will remember that it was shot in black and white in order to more closely resemble the old monster movies to which it paid homage, and thus the film was forced to perfect the balance between jokes and slapstick. Though it is possible to recreate a gothic and dark atmosphere on stage, Stroman and Brooks chose here to go with a bawdy and relentless flashy spectacle. Frederick's lab is cartoony with brightly-colored gizmos and switches, and the show as a whole does not lack for huge flashes of light that bathe the entire audience (even in the back of the theater where I was seated).

Overall, "Young Frankenstein" is a typical Mel Brooks affair: bawdy humor, well-timed slapstick, and vaudevillian influence. Despite the production's minor faults, it will not fail to dazzle first-time viewers or reward long-time lovers of the film.

"Young Frankenstein" is currently running at the Hilton Theatre in New York City, NY. It opened November 11, 2007 with an open end date.

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