Review: FRANKENSTEIN Lacks Life

This past week, the Notre Dame Film, Television, and Theatre department, put on Tim Kelly's Frankenstein, a theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel.

As per usual at Notre Dame, the production quality of the show was astonishing. The set was a masterpiece; dark leather furniture, mock marble ceilings and marble floors, large windows, props of the scientific world in every nook and cranny, and an eerie laboratory door, framed with peeling paint, all created the world of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The costume quality followed suit; a grand, frilly wedding dress for a young bride, dark, crisp suits for young scientists, and shredded overalls for a monster. The lighting design for the show also played a major role in bringing the theatricality of Frankenstein to life; every light choice added depth to the drama on stage, whether it was a rainbow of lights behind a laboratory door reflecting the other-worldly experiment happening inside, or a dimming of lights to reflect the solitude of inner thoughts and turmoil. All of this helped create a stunning world in which an ugly story was about to be told. The production quality was of the highest standards; no little detail was spared, and so I can only give the highest accolades for just how beautiful everything was.

As beautiful as Frankenstein looked, it couldn't save the production from being lackluster. The flow of the show was strange, with the cast performances switching back and forth from either dull and stagnant to cheesy and overdramatic. For much of the time, the cast talked in quiet and serious monotone voices. This was true even when revealing or important moments were unfolding on stage. The pacing of the show ended up being slow and empty, since the usual exciting and enticing moments that come from a drama, were instead replaced with odd apathy; poetic words were being spoken with no emotion behind them. On another weird note, when the cast wasn't flat, their performances were on the opposite side of the spectrum: obvious, corny, and forced. At some points, it was so over the top, that in moments that were in no way meant to be comical, ended up getting riotous laughter from the audience. It was not laughter resulting from the drama unfolding on stage but rather the juxtaposition of the acting choices against the storyline.

All the actors, however, were steady in their portrayals which is a silver lining. Whether their decisions were suitable or not, they stuck with their choices which reflects their hard work toward their characters. Eric Ways, who played Henry, had the best performance of the night. Ways was the most natural actor, with discernable levels to his character. Ways portrayal had ebb and flow, and visible differences in his reactions and approaches to different situations in the storyline.

The play became more enjoyable towards the end. The actors seemingly found their rhythm with each other and their character chemistry improved. Once this happened, the boredom began to slip away and was replaced by intrigue and captivation. The most well-performed scene of the night was the ending. Everything seemed to finally fall perfectly into place for the actors, and it was satisfyingly good scene of theatre.

Photo Credit: Peter Ringenberg

Photo 1: Joseph Blakey

Photo 2: Joseph Blakey and Eric Ways

Photo 3: Mateusz Bendisz and Eric Ways

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