Dr. Frederick Frankenstein travels to the castle where his grandfather, Victor Frankenstein created his notorious, jeery-rigged “monster”. Much to the dismay of the villagers, the creature ran amok, terrorizing the populace and raising havoc. The experiment was (pretty much) an all-around fiasco. Frederick meets Igor, and Frau Blucher, who knew and assisted Victor, back in the day. Already a successful doctor, he insists (loudly) that he’s no interest in continuing his grandfather’s work. But somehow, Igor and Blucher convince him his true destiny is inescapable. No ordinary mortal, he climbs the shoulders of ancestors, continuing the megalomaniacal need to create life.
As many of you know, the film, Young Frankenstein, was released by Mel Brooks in 1974. Shot in black and white, using sets evoking the original, Universal Studio’s Frankenstein (1931). It was an unapologetic spoof of the horror classic. You might say Brooks built a career on peerless (or at least, inspired) audacity. There’s a kind of brilliance in his subversive, adolescent need to undercut a romantic goodbye between Frederick and his fiancee, when she admonishes: “No tongues.” Young Frankenstein was all about vaudevillian, throwaway shtick. You had to pay attention. An anachronistic reference to Ovaltine, a monologue channeling the quintessential, doting Jewish Mother. Even if some of the content was lost in the Bible Belt, by and large, it worked.
By now, film transliterated into Broadway Musical qualifies as a reliable, bankable venture. 9 ½, Hairspray, The Producers, are all successful versions of this relatively recent genre, first cousin perhaps to musicals made from familiar plays. Hello Dolly from The Matchmaker, My Fair Lady from Pygmalion, Chicago from the comedy of the same name, written in the 1920’s. The trick to conversion, is to compose a different incarnation from the source material. Hairspray the Musical is very different in tone and execution from John Waters’ low-key paean to the disenfranchised and underdog. It’s true to the spirit, but in some ways transcends the film. The Producers (ironically) also by Mel Brooks, expands on the classic film, going off on tangents and celebrating the familiar narrative, but making for a notably different experience.
Which brings us to Young Frankenstein (The Mel Brooks Musical). The stage production is virtually the same as the film, which got an 80% boost by mocking the parent film. The musical was probably designed to entice those who love the Brooks film, and those who don’t know it. It’s the same clever, saucy material, with songs that will tickle and amuse. Brooks, of course, is no stranger to blue humor, and never tires of sneaking a whoopee cushion onto the throne of the posh and pretentious. If he showed up on the set of Cries and Whispers he and Bergman might come to blows. This being said, we know from The Producers that with a push, something more phenomenal was possible.
Theatre 3’s excellent production of Young Frankentein is campy and shameless and hilarious. The cast (Aaron Mateo, Arroyo, Annie Olive Cahill, Leslie Marie Collins, Edward Michael, Escamilla, Sarah Gay, Parker Gray, Luke Longacre, Paulette Cocke, Samantha Padilla, Alejandro Saucedo) is bravura, sharp, and silly as hell. Parker Gray savors the loopy, delirious energy of the good doctor. (What’s up with that hair?) It has a great sense of showmanship, and Joel Ferrell keeps things humming, while not ignoring the juicy bits.
Theatre 3 presents Young Frankenstein (The Mel Brooks Musical) playing October 13th-November 13th, 2022. 214-871-3300. 2688 Laclede Street, Suite 120, Dallas, Texas 75201. www.Theatre3Dallas.com.