OK, so you've read my pan of Mel Brooks' horribly cynical and lazy Young Frankenstein. Perhaps you've even read the reviews, which were less than stellar, to say the least. But if you really want to know what's wrong with the show, read Gil Varod's very funny and painfully spot-on parody: Young Frankenstein Abridged: Or Gene Wilder How We Miss You to Pieces.
I've long been a fan of Gil's Broadway Abridged blog, and his savage skewering of Young Frankenstein only makes me a bigger fan. For the uninitiated, Varod parodies Broadway plays and musicals by condensing them in a very snarky and disrespectful fashion. I don't always agree with him. (I actually really enjoyed the revival of 110 in the Shade.) But I always look forward to reading his take on the latest over-hyped mega-musical or highfalutin artsy-fartsy play.
Oh, BTW, according to Michael Riedel of the New York Post, all those $450 seats aren't exactly selling like hotcakes, and can be had for around $100 from outlets in the Times Square area. I can't help thinking about one of my favorite foreign words:
Schadenfreude: [Origin: 1890–95; < G, equiv. to Schaden harm + Freude joy
] Happiness at the misfortune of others. ("Happiness at the misfortune of others? That is German..." Gary Coleman, Avenue Q)
Eat it, Mel.
Congrats, Chris. It's great to see the "mainstream" media taking note of the theater blogger community and you certainly deserve the recognition.
Posted by: [email protected] | January 16, 2008 at 02:02 PM