Review: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at The Grand Theatre

Frankenstein or Fronkensteen - either way, the Grand Theatre's "Young Frankenstein" is a show that needs to be seen! In fact, it's monstrously good fun.

While Mel Brooks used many of the same elements that made "The Producers" so successful - sing-along choruses, Borscht Belt humor and stock character types, along with plenty of dance breaks - that's no excuse to pass up "The New Mel Brooks Musical: Young Frankenstein," as the show is fully dubbed.

At the Grand, director David Schmidt has assembled a splendidly professional cast and the tone he sets is crackerjack. Not only are the cast members thoroughly entertaining, but it's clear they are all having an equally good time in their roles. Schmidt works hand-in-glove with choreographer Christine Moore, and her references to Busby Berkeley are enjoyable.

It's one of the largest shows mounted on the Grand stage, and it's also one of the most wholly entertaining.

Like Brooks' 1974 film, "Young Frankenstein" is an audacious parody of 1930s horror films along with an affectionate homage to the Frankenstein tale.

When Dr. Victor von Frankenstein dies, his American grandson, Frederick (Addison Welch), a brain surgeon who distances himself from his family's reputation by pronouncing his name "Fronkensteen," inherits the estate. Arriving in Transylvania, Frederick meets humpbacked Igor (Trevor Dean), his assistant. Frederick next meets Inga (Arielle Schmidt), a frisky laboratory assistant with a knack for yodeling, and Frau Blücher (Lisa Ann White), the estate's sinister housekeeper.

Scenic designer Halee Rasmussen has created an eye-catching, clever Transylvania fortress, and the costumes by Megan Jensen are visual gems.

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