BWW Reviews: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Gets Re-Animated at OCPAC

A wandering hump. Hyper-active hay rides. A tap-dancing, zipper-necked monster. One thing is clear: Mel Brooks is one silly man. In the world of comedy, silliness is definitely a positive trait. You certainly get a fair dose of his madcap genius in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, the stage musical adaptation of his cinematic cult classic, whose touring company continues performances at the Orange County Performing Arts Center through September 25. 

A well-intentioned adaptation that tries valiantly to reach its full summit, this musical mines most of its laughs from signature moments faithfully recreated from Brooks' 1974 genre-skewering film comedy of the same name. It's quite an undertaking, especially since... first, Brooks' first foray into a full-tilt Broadway musical became the massively-revered The Producers, and, second, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN's own source material is one of the movie world's much-loved comedies. Broadway's initial reaction to the show was decidedly mixed; but on tour—where most audiences arrive with a more forgiving, less judgmental, "please entertain me" attitude—the show feels much more at ease with itself, relying heavily instead on the very over-the-top nature of the original material and the nostalgia that this material brings to many who remember the film with fondness.

Though now musicalized, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN's internal story skeleton remains similar to the movie: respected New York scientist Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (now played on tour by Christopher Ryan) learns that his mad-scientist grandfather Victor has passed away. Leaving behind his prudish fiancée Elizabeth (now played by Janine Davita), the younger Frankenstein (pronounced Fronk-ehn-steeen, by the way) decides to travel to Transylvania to settle out his family's affairs at his grandfather's castle at the top of the hill. There, aided by Victor's hunch-backed henchman Igor (the very funny Cory English), the castle's caretaker Frau Blücher (scene-stealing Joanna Glushak), and newly-hired buxom assistant Inga (now played by Synthia Link), Frederick convinces himself that he can carry on "the family business" by bringing a giant corpse (now played by Preston Truman Boyd) back from the dead. The re-animated monster, however, is less than what they had hoped... 

Though subtle, OCPAC's presentation of the tour has the distinction of hosting a slightly revamped version of the show. Aside from the revised underground laboratory set, and the new faces filling some of the lead roles (English and Glushak continue in their roles; Broadway vets Roger Bart, Shuler Hensley and Brad Oscar have departed), the show seems tighter and zippier, whizzing from one scene to another like a giddy, well-oiled conveyor-belt Carol Burnett variety hour.

But after seeing the show's July debut at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood (you can read the full review of that performance: here), and now witnessing the start of its mostly-recast second leg at OCPAC, one question arises: beyond the funny, familiar vignettes and outlandish exchanges directly lifted from the film, would this show be even funnier if every witty joke and every clever lyric could actually be heard and deciphered better? Perhaps because of a combination of low-volume microphones and thickly over-emphasized accents, many of the spoken or sung words from each character sounded garbled or just plain incomprehensible. You can't help but wonder if those lulls in laughter are caused not by a flat joke, but simply from the inability to even hear the joke clearly at all. When Brooks' wit and silliness does penetrate through the audio filter, the laughs are loud, hearty and fairly plentiful.

What truly works in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN are the iconic moments plucked and reimaged from the cult film that already have proven to be comic bits of genius the first time around, three decades ago. Despite some indecipherable dialogue and lyrics (which improves significantly in the second act), the entire enterprise is still rather silly and fun. Brooks hasn't met a double-entendre he didn't like and there are plenty here (and, to be honest, are all quite adorably harmless). Also nice to see (and hear) are the randomly-placed, contemporary-sounding, seemingly ad-libbed bits that are so loony, that their pure wacky existence elicits raucous eruptions of laughter. An example: when Frederick discusses Igor's humps to the tune of Fergie/Black Eyed Pea's "My Humps."

The cast, once again, elevates the material. As Dr. Frankenstein, Ryan—taking over the role from Broadway and Tour originator Roger Bart—is an amiable, truly likable Frederick. His delivery seems to channel a bit more of Gene Wilder from the film version, but with a slightly more dashing air. Boyd, as the giant Monster, makes a great impression, from his first movements of life until his final moments when he takes on a surprisingly proper Noel Coward-esque English accent straight out of Masterpiece Theater. His solo work in the iconic, now scaled-up Irving Berlin "Puttin' On The Ritz" number (perhaps the most famous scene from the film) is outlandish and excellent. Glushak remains wonderfully quirky and campy as Frau Blücher, especially in her standout "He Vas My Boyfriend." And perhaps the show's most universally adored of all is English's Igor (incidentally, pronounced Eye-Gore) who rightly earns the most laughs in the entire show. His energetic, mile-a-minute stage presence as well as his comical rapport with Ryan are farcical triumphs.

Admittedly, though, I miss the elaborate ooh-and-aah factor of the L.A. set... specifically, Frankenstein's underground laboratory, which has been simplified for OCPAC (and assumably, for the rest of the tour). Nonetheless, this new one may work to keep things much more at arm's reach and doesn't impede on the show at all. Overall, Brooks' sophomore musical proves, if nothing else, that the man can write a catchy tune or two to go with his wonderfully absurd sense of humor. Plucking the funniest, most memorable bits from the film was a given (and works pretty well in this translation), but the show somehow needed just another jolt. Again, it's only fair to bring up that perhaps the show truly is even funnier if not for that pesky, lingering auditory problem.

While YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, without a doubt, certainly has plenty of laughs to coax out, some moments felt like it could have used a pinch more of the boffo schtick that his non-musical projects have in spades.

We wonder then... should we expect flatulent cowboys that sing and dance sometime in the near future? Here's hoping we do.

Read BWW's Interview with Cory English here: BWW Interviews: Young Frankenstein's Cory English

Photos by Paul Kolnik. Top Set: Preston Truman Boyd (the Monster) & Christopher Ryan (Frankenstein);
Cory English (Igor, in back), Christopher Ryan & Synthia Link (Inga, foreground).
Middle Set: Cory English (with Abby Normal's brain); Joanna Glushak (Frau Blücher).

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Performances of the 1st National Tour of Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at the Orange County Performing Arts Center continue through September 25 and are on Tuesdays – Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Tickets to see YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN start at $15 and are available online at OCPAC.org, by calling 714.556.2787 and at the Center’s Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

$20 STUDENT RUSH tickets are available for students 1 hour before showtime with required valid I.D. (Cash only, strictly one ticket per student, excluding Saturday shows). For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 15 or more, call the Group Services office at 714.755.0236. The TTY number is 714.556.2746.

The 2 p.m. performance on Saturday, September 18 will be sign-language interpreted.

For more information, visit OCPAC.org. For more about the YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN tour, visit YoungFrankensteinTheMusical.com.

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