Young Frankenstein: Lazy and Unimaginative

I just got back from one of my NYC theater weekends. I saw Young Frankenstein and Jersey Boys. Look for my review of the latter later in the week.   

I have to admit that I had a bias against Young Frankenstein going in. So much of what I had heard about the actions and attitudes of the personnel involved had left a bad taste in my mouth. To wit:

- The obscenely high top ticket price of $450
- The fact that the producers won't make their weekly numbers public
- That Mel Brooks and director/choreographer Susan Stroman toured the house of the Hilton Theater (a la circling vultures) while the poor cast of the late and unlamented show The Pirate Queen were rehearsing on the stage
- That Mel Brooks refuses to join the Writers Guild
- That despite lukewarm out-of-town reviews, the show has undergone only cosmetic changes since its Seattle tryout.

The whole thing just smacks of arrogance. The creators are simply assuming that the show will be a smash. This has many in the theatrical community rooting against the show. That includes me, if I may so boldly include myself as part of the theatrical community, however tangentially. So how can I remain objective? Well, you know what? I don't have to be objective. I'm not a critic, I'm a blogger. I can say whatever the hell I want. And will.

The producers and creators probably figure that after the huge success of The Producers, that they have an automatic hit on their hands with Young Frankenstein. But as anyone who's ever had a Broadway hit can tell you, previous success means nothing. What matters is what's on the stage, and whether it's entertaining and effective. The show is at its best when it veers from slavishly aping the movie. This isn't very often. The creators seem content merely to paste uninspired numbers into what they consider an already-winning formula. It seems to have taken very little effort, and by that I don't so much mean "effortless" as "lazy."

Act 1 was a series of joyless, obligatory production numbers, and comic bits that fell flat. I noticed that Mel Brooks was seated not too far from me. Was he noting the tepid response that many of the numbers received? The number of jokes and bits that met with empty air? Will he bother to do anything about them as previews proceed, or will he simply cash his check? Admittedly, the Hilton Theater is not a great house for comedy. The laughs disappear into the cavernous auditorium. Even so, what laughs there were were sparse, sporadic, and anemic. And yet the audience mystifyingly seemed to think it was having a good time.

The score is one step above terrible, redeemed only by the occasional semi-effective number, such as "Deep Love," the Elizabeth character's big second-act showpiece. Most of the lyrics are at best forgettable, at worst awkward and amateurish. It reminds me of the score to Spamalot: it doesn't even try to be good. But then, just as with Spamalot, people aren't coming to hear a quality score, and they certainly don't get one. They just want to see one of their favorite movies on stage. Just validate my expectations; don't try to stretch the form or create genuine quality. Also, the show's set was remarkably flimsy for a multi-million-dollar production. You'd think for the money they're demanding for tickets that they'd be able to make the flats stay still.

As for the cast, Roger Bart was out for this performance, so we got understudy Matthew LaBanca as Frederick Frankenstein. He was game and energetic, and almost letter-perfect in his knowledge of the role. The audience didn't seem to care that the actor playing the title character was out. But the role appears underwritten and bland: there's not enough heft to give it dramatic or comedic weight.

The marvelously talented Sutton Foster is simply wasted as the pulchritudinous lab assistant Inga. She didn't have a single second of stage time that was worthy of her considerable gifts. Christopher Fitzgerald hams it up shamelessly as Igor, often quite effectively, but just as often to silence from the house. Andrea Martin makes the best of the cardboard role of Frau Blucher. Her "He Vas My Boyfriend" was the only number in Act 1 that I found worth applauding.

The biggest disappointment for me was Megan Mullaley, who seemed with her every breath to be trying to avoid being Karen Walker. The material Brooks has provided her is especially weak, but Mullaley did retain a small remnant of the spark I recall from when she was Rosemary to Matthew Broderick's J. Pierpont Finch in the 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.

Young Frankenstein will very likely be a hit. Will it run for six years, like Mel Brooks' last Broadway effort? I've sort of given up trying to make those kind of predictions. All I can say is that, as far as quality musical theater goes, Young Frankenstein falls monstrously short.

Comments

[Frank]

Wasn't Brooks most recent Broadway attempt "The Odd Couple?" I don't think that was much of a success.

[chris caggiano]

I think you'll find that Neil Simon wrote The Odd Couple. Brooks didn't have anything to do with it, although the recent revival did star Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, the original stars of The Producers. And that revival was a huge financial success. Completely sold out every single ticket in every show, as I recall.

[Alicia]

Great review... I give you kudos for even giving it a try. There are so many more offerings right now that are worthy of our hard earned dollars that I feel inclined to boycott this one.

[Jim D]

I saw "The Producers" on Broadway three times. For me, it was the funniest show I've ever seen on Broadway. I saw the Sat. 11/3 2 p.m. matinee. Brace yourselves for lousy reviews on Thursday. Although there were lots of little laughs, nearly all were merely live performances of the movie's best punchlines. I counted 12 GIANT laughs the first time I saw the Producers, but here there were about 2, maybe 3. Production design is magnificent, so if you give high value to that, you'll enjoy the show. But, the songs aren't nearly as inventive as The Producers (with the exception of Andrea Martin's 'He vas my boyfriend' and Megan's "Deep Love". I wanted the show to be funny....alas, I won't be back. 2 stars out of 5; maybe 3 if you add in the staging/lighting/sound which is great. If you never saw the movie, make it 3 stars...since the jokes will seem new. Blazing Saddles - the musical! Bring it on -- it's gotta be better.