After the stunning success of his Broadway musical "The Producers" (based on his 1968 movie of the same name), Mel Brooks is back on the boards with "Young Frankenstein." Again, based on one of his better movies (perhaps his best; from 1974), "Young Frankenstein" (hereafter "YF") is playing it's debut performances in Seattle. If the attendance at a Saturday matinee is any indication, it's playing to near or totally sold-out crowds in the historic Paramount Theater.
And for good reason: it's hilarious. The biggest downfall for me is the songs (full disclosure: I am not a fan of musicals, especially movies but plays I'll cut some slack). The music and lyrics were by Mr. Brooks. To ask Mel to be an incredibly funny man (and he is) and a funny Andrew Lloyd Webber would be asking too much. His songs (and this is true of "The Producers," too) tend to be trite and even a bit annoying. I still have "Join the Family Business" stuck in my head where Frederick Frankenstein's ancestors (and the beautiful Inga) encourage him in a dream to build a monster. What saved many on the songs in "The Producer" was that they were sweet, funny, or full of double entendres. In YF, Mel left out the sweet. But then again, building a monster is not really a sweet story.
I also have little patience for long song and dance numbers (except for the pretty dancers). And speaking of pretty, laboratory assistant Inga is played by Sutton Foster with the lithe body of a dancer and a singing voice that matches her loveliness, was the treat of the afternoon. Roger Bart plays Frederick Frankenstein like Dan Aykroyd doing Gene Wilder. Megan Mullally (of "Will and Grace" fame) plays Frederick's frigid yet frisky fiancée Elizabeth with finesse. Comparing her to the brilliant and incomparable Madeline Kahn would be unfair, but who says life is fair. She doesn't compare to Ms. Kahn, yet comes achingly close as she wisely chose to take the character in her own direction. I haven't watched much "Will and Grace" (maybe 30 minutes total) but she seems to play Elizabeth just as she played Karen Walker on the TV show. At least she can sing if not up to Ms. Kahn's standards. And Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher (cue horse whinny) is hilarious. "He Vas My Boyfriend" is practically worth the price of admission itself.
If YF is a hit on Broadway (not the one on Capitol Hill in Seattle) it will be on the performances of its stars, it's high production values (but the moon has got to stop bouncing) and the hilarity of its book. The songs are--to me--just filler.
P.S.: I'm eternally grateful to my friend Mark for turning me on to Mel Brooks circa 1976. So when's Spaceballs The Musical going to come out?
