Entr'acte Theatrix' to Present YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, 10/22-11/1

Entr'acte Theatrix, whose recent productions of Into the Woods, Avenue Q, Spamalot, and The Rocky Horror Show have consistently filled the Crest Theatre, will present Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein from October 22nd through November 1st at the popular Delray Beach venue.

A wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend, Brooks' comedy masterpiece follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein (that's Fronkensteen!) as he attempts to complete his grandfather's masterwork and bring a corpse to life. Together with his oddly shaped and endearing helper Igor (that's Eye-gor), his curvaceous lab assistant Inga, and in spite of his incredibly self-involved madcap fiancé Elizabeth, Frankenstein succeeds in creating a monster - but not without scary and quite often hilarious complications.

Young Frankenstein was Mel Brooks' follow-up to his hit musical The Producers, and audience reaction to the production was consistently positive, much to his delight: "I love what they do," Brooks said in an interview shortly after the show opened. "The audience knows Young Frankenstein the movie; they didn't know The Producers. They all neigh when anyone on stage says "Frau Blucher". And they can't wait for the Blind Hermit to spill the hot soup on the monster's lap. It's great to see the audience play ping-pong with the actors."

"Young Frankenstein allows Entr'acte Theatrix an excellent opportunity to introduce this group of young actors to the genius of Mel Brooks," explains the company's founder and producer Vicki Halmos. "He's one of our foremost American comedy writers. We introduced the company to the British comedy of Monty Python with our production of Spamalot a couple of years ago, and Brooks' work is a natural follow-up to that. We drilled them in workshops to land the comedy and study the contrasts."

Several Young Frankenstein cast members were part of Halmos' Palm Beach Principal Players group several years ago, and are now back with freshly minted theatre degrees, and looking for the on-stage experience Entr'acte provides.

Kevin Black, who has helmed a number of Entr'acte's productions, will direct the show, and Roger Blankenship has taken on the task of musical direction.

"I'm really impressed with this cast's preparedness", says Black. He met them after they'd completed their comedy improv workshops, which were run by Seth Trucks, a graduate of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. "I found them to be delightfully bonded - with the material, and with each other."

"I had been a fan of the movie, but did not know it was made into a musical," says Blankenship. "It was a shock to learn that Mel Brooks also wrote the music! And it is good!! AND we have the singers to bring it to life on stage!!!".

Cast members include Robyn Eli Brenner (Frederick Frankenstein), Victoria Lauzun (Inga), Christopher Lam (The Creature), Greg Halmos (Igor), Carlo Sabusap (Inspector Kemp), Cindy Thagard (Frau Blucher), Melissa Whitworth (Elizabeth), and Ross Parris (Dr. Victor Frankenstein). Also cast are Lara Williams, Phillip Andrew, Maryann Whims, Mary Grace Tesoriero, Nick Williams, Jonathan Nieto, Katie Frederickson, and Alexander Schettino.

Entr'acte Theatrix is a not-for-profit, semi-professional, showcase company providing opportunities for emerging theatre artists, both on-stage and backstage. The fourteen year old company gives students of college or post-graduate programs on a professional trajectory with a goal of working in the profession a chance to gain experience in their area of training or interest. Entr'acte, as the name suggests, is the "next step," from classroom to career, and provides the young theatre artist with one of his or her all-important first professional resume-building credits.

Young Frankenstein will run from October 22nd to November 1st at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts' Crest Theatre, 51 N. Swinton Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33444. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased on line at: www.entractetheatrix.org or www.delraycenterfor the arts.org, or by phone at 561-243-7922, Ext. 1. Tickets are $30; student rates ($20) and group rates ($22) are also available.

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