BWW Reviews: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at the Hippdrome

The historic Hippodrome Theatre began its life as a vaudeville house. Would you like to see a musical filled with "shtick", lovely long-legged blonde women dancers, clever lighting with realistic thunder and lightning, and occasional laughs then  The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein (that's the complete title) is just for you.

Many theatergoers may view YF as The Producers (Part Deux) featuring similar humor (many jokes about the female anatomy) and similar music. The Playbill demonstrates that nine cast members of YF actually performed in The Producers.  However, while YF is certainly entertaining, please do not expect anything to match the record-breaking 12 Tony Awards of the 2001 of that sensation.

There are four major leads from the Broadway production that did not travel with the tour: Sutton Foster, AndRea Martin, Megan Mullally, and Christopher Fitzgerald.  However, I'm happy to report, their replacements don't miss a beat: Anne Horak, Joanna Glushak, Beth Curry, and Cory English.

English demonstrates incredible comedic talent as Igor (pronounced Eyegor), Horak dazzles as Inge, Glushak plays the very German Fra Blucher (I heard that), but it is Beth Curry in the plum role of Elizabeth who steals the show. Brad Oscar, who has been spending much time lately demonstrating his brilliance at the Arena Stage, has two roles as Inspector Kemp and the Hermit.

Thankfully, maybe due to the lack of good roles on Broadway, two members of the original cast chose to take their roles on the road: Roger Bart continues his classic rendition as the "mad" doctor and Shuler Hensley excels in  the Monster role.  Hensley's tap dance in Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz" is alone  worth the price of admission.

So, the best number in this musical is by Irving Berlin. The genius Mel Brooks wrote all the "other unmemorable music". You won't want to buy the CD.

That's not to say however you won't enjoy YF. There's a huge cast and a talented ensemble under Susan Stroman's direction and choreography (similar to that in The Producers), a clever Gothic set by Robin Wagner, wonderful costumes by William Ivey Long, evocative lighting by Peter Koczorowski, and a terrific 16 piece orchestra under the capable baton of Robert Billig (Broadway had the luxury of 24 pieces).

Kudos to Roger Bart who took time out on December 7 while the show was at the Kennedy Center to attend a fund-raiser for the Olney Theatre Center National Players celebrating 60 years of entertainment. Bart starred in the OTC production of A Little Night Music. I'm always impressed when successful actors give back to theaters that helped them develop their talents.

YF continues at the Hippodrome until January 24. Call 410-547-7328 or visit
www.france-merrickpac.com. Check out the show's website www.youngfrankensteinthemusical.com.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

 

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.