In Mel Brooks’ zany brain, Frankenstein’s monster needed to be transformed from horror creature to comedy feature. The monstrously funny film, Young Frankenstein, undergoes another transformation when the Toledo Repertoire Theater brings it to the stage starting Friday, June 6.
“It closely follows the movie script, and the lines we remember from the movie are all there,” said Lydia Schafer, who plays the role of foreboding housekeeper Frau Blucher.
“People who love the movie will love the musical,” said director Amy Spaulding-Heuring.
Comedy is all about timing, Spaulding-Heuring points out, and she is confident the Rep’s cast will deliver the laughs on cue.
Casting synergy
“We have what I like to call lightning in a bottle,” she said. “All of our leads, our principals—Frau Blucher, Dr. Frankenstein, Igor and Inga—have really good chemistry together.”
The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, which ran on Broadway from 2007 to 2009, is based on Brooks’ 1974 film about the mad scientist’s grandson, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (he pronounces it Fronk-en-steen), traveling to Transylvania to inherit the family estate. Intrigued by his grandfather’s lab journals, he enlists the family servant Igor (he pronounces it EYE-gor) in a bid to reanimate the dead.
Everything goes awry, of course, and the cast lets the jokes fly.
“It’s pure escapism; it’s a farce. Everything is done for laughs,” Spaulding-Heuring said. “Mel is trying to get the audience to laugh as much as he can. That makes the scenes that have a little pathos and tenderness more poignant because everything else around it is so funny.”
In addition to Schafer as Frau Blucher, the cast includes Trent Dorner as Young Frankenstein, Patrick Boyer as Igor, Kristin Kukic as Inga, and Reed Reamsnyder as the Monster.
Schafer said the musical’s punchlines are almost too good—the actors have struggled to keep a straight face during rehearsals.
“We’ve been laughing so much that is will be a challenge not to break character,” she said.
But Spaulding-Heuring has been pushing the cast to make sure they have a grip on the script.
“We’re not going to leave comedy up to chance,” Schafer said. “Amy has been a taskmaster, there are no two ways about it.”
Comedic rewards
Comedy is a particularly challenging and rewarding genre for an actor, Schafer said.
“For me, getting a laugh is better than getting applause,” she said. “If you can do something on stage that gets a laugh, you know it’s a genuine feeling from the audience. There’s no better feeling.”
She warned theater-goers that there’s an edge to Brooks’ comedy in this musical.
“It’s pretty bawdy. It’s in your face. It’s ridiculously funny but I think there should be a rating on it, something like ‘for more mature audiences.’ It’s Mel Brooks to the nth degree.”
“Young Frankenstein” will be presented June 6-June 22. Fridays and Saturdays, 8pm; Sundays, 2:30pm. Adults, $25/ seniors, $23/ students ages 13+, $10/ students under age 12, $5.
10th Street Theater, 16 10th St.
419-243-9277.
