Thursday, May 31, 2012

Young Frankenstein the Musical

Last night we went to see Young Frankenstein The Musical. We were excited about seeing it because we love the movie and wanted to see how well the adaptation worked.

It turns out that the Young Frankenstein story adapts very well to the musical format. In fact, I'd say that the musical was better in some ways than the movie, at least in my opinion. The songs were punny and catchy and the music was upbeat. The story moved along quickly and was very entertaining; even though the show was almost three hours, I didn't notice how much time had passed.

I especially loved the way Igor was played in the musical over the way he was played in the movie. He was really the star of the show and definitely added (more) comic relief. The actor playing Frederick Frankenstein, our protagonist, was very good and sang very well.

The production wasn't perfect, of course. We didn't love the actress playing Elizabeth, Frederick's fiance, or the character herself but she was unfortunately an integral part of the story. The dancers in the chorus weren't very crisp in their movements and they all seemed to interpret their steps slightly differently. That's ok; this was a touring production, after all, and no one expects them to be perfect.

Overall, we very much enjoyed the show and were thrilled that we got a chance to see it. If you like Mel Brooks' work, Young Frankenstein the movie, or musicals in general, this show is for you.

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