BWW Reviews: FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUSICAL Presents the Classic Horror Story as a 1700s Steampunk Operetta

Art-in-Relation, the new performing arts company created by Jonas Sills and Ray Buffer, is presenting its first production, the West Coast premiere of FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUSICAL from October 23 through November 1 at the Ernest Borgnine Theatre inside the Scottish Rite Event Center in Long Beach. The two producers also appear in this powerful production, as Victor Frankenstein and The Creature, respectively.

FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUSICAL is based on the original novel by Mary Shelley and has music by Mark Baron, lyrics by Jeffrey Jackson, and a book by Jackson and Gary P. Cohen. The story follows Shelley's novel quite closely, and is ultimately about man reaching for the power of God, while battling the two deadly sins of greed and pride. Victor is a tragic character who means well. He simply wants to learn the secrets that would allow him to bring back to life someone he lost when he was young - his much-beloved mother.

Almost like an opera, FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUSICAL weaves melodic lines into the persona of characters, and then brings them back to create feeling and nostalgia. Jonas Sills, a vocal artist by trade, gets to lavishly showcase his range and power playing Victor Frankenstein in a tour-de-force performance, hardly ever leaving the stage in this mostly sung-thru musical operetta. Sills commands the stage when he sings, sharing the torment of a man torn between his dreams and the harsh reality he inadvertently has created.

Hiding his work from his long-suffering fiancée Elizabeth, beautifully sung by Shannon Cudd, Victor claims the body of a recently hanged man and proceeds to prove he can bring him back to life. Unfortunately, the path he takes awakens a beast that craves revenge and methodically goes after the people Victor loves, robbing them of their lives just as Victor has robbed him of a normal life and someone to love.

To try and make things right, Victor agrees to be a modern Prometheus and create a bride for the Creature, but things go terribly wrong, inciting the Creature for even greater revenge against his creator. Besides directing the show, Ray Buffer portrays The Creature with the menace of Captain Hook and Bluebeard rolled into one. His booming voice is perfectly suited to generate fear in anyone coming into contact with his massively evil persona.

Among the many wonderful singers/actors in featured roles are Jacqueline Crist-Frazen and Perry Shields as Victor's parents Caroline and Alphonse, Jordi Beltran as Victor's extremely energetic younger brother William, and Joshua Switzer as Victor's best friend Henry who reminds Victor of what he should do as opposed to what he can do after finding Victor's journal. One of the most touching songs, "The Music of Love," is performed by The Creature (Buffer), Agatha, a young mother (Kayla Hasler, a most lovely singer), and her father, a violin playing Blind Man (Gilbert Gauthier). It is the Creature's chance to feel human again, at least for a short time.

The costuming by award-winning costumer, Michael Mullen is a very creative melding of late 1700's garb with steampunk flair. Think gas masks, goggles, gears and top hats and you get the idea. As strange as the combination sounds, it worked beautifully and the costumes are a star of the show on their own merit with lots of rich velvets, satin and lace. However, Sills appeared to have a bit of trouble managing his ornate but ill-fitting costumes, his microphone wire distractedly dangling below his vest through most of the show.

Award-winning lighting designer Jean-Yves Tessier infuses the show with brilliant lighting effects, especially focused spotlights illuminated through a haze of smoky fog to enhance the spookiness of the story. However, there were times when the featured singers appeared to be in darkness with their faces obscured by shadows. The recorded music, which on occasion caused the actors to have to wait before singing, did little to diminish the splendor of the its beautiful harmonies by Music Director, Stephen Pu, under the guidance of show director, Ray Buffer.

Another nice staging effect is having the dead appear above their own gravestones as they sing their words of warning to Victor, which of course he fails to heed.

Where this production falls apart is with the ensemble choreography by Nichole Beeks as many could not seem to get the mechanized, steampunk movements coordinated to look sharp and clean. It's truly a shame because the stylized head turns and arm movements meant to suggest machinery would have been very effective had the actors been able to move in unison, rather than appear so disorganized. There also were some sound problems, but that is to be expected with a new production company learning to master its space.

FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUSICAL is appropriately presented near and on Halloween, October 23, 24, 25, 30, 31 and November 1 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25/$18.50/$10 and may be purchased online at http://brownpapertickets.com/ or by phone at 1-800-838-3006. Those who attend on Halloween Night are encouraged to attend in costume for discounted admission. The Ernest Borgnine Theatre is at 855 Elm Ave., Long Beach, CA 90813, with plenty of free parking onsite.

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