Young Frankenstein @ Circle Theatre
—Jill Sweeney
There’s something delightfully throwback about Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, with its Borscht Belt humor and unabashed horniness; if every gag doesn’t land, sheer gag density guarantees laughs. Based on the 1974 film co-written by Brooks and star Gene Wilder, with the book from Brooks and Thomas Meehan and lyrics by Brooks, it tells the tale of Frederick Frankenstein (or “Fronkensteen,” as is his preferred pronunciation), grandson to THAT Dr. Frankenstein, who may have more in common with his famous ancestor than he thinks. Circle Theatre’s production, a veritable smorgasbord of local talent, keeps the action fast paced and the zingers flying.
Frederick (a fantastic Parker Gray, channeling that high-strung Wilder energy, and whose slicked down curls are a sort of fuzzy Chekhov’s gun, waiting to go off as the character grows more agitated) is doing his best to leave his family history behind. But when he suddenly becomes the owner of his grandfather’s Transylvanian castle, he finds himself following in the OG Frankenstein’s footsteps. Leaving the (extremely) chaste embrace of his high-society fiancée Elizabeth (Leslie Marie Collins), Frederick travels to Transylvania, where he’s met with Igor (Alejandro Saucedo), hunchbacked grandson of the original toady, and his buxom new lab assistant Inga (Annie Olive Cahill). The castle, managed by the intimidating Frau Blucher (Sarah Gay), is full of secrets, and Frederick can’t escape his family obsession with reanimating the dead. After creating a brand-new Monster (portrayed by swing Edward Escamilla at this reviewer’s performance, though regularly played by Luke Longacre), it naturally escapes, terrorizing the locals and even running off with Frederick’s fiancée. Can this tale of terror have a happy ending?
This sort of silliness benefits most from speed, and director Joel Ferrell mostly manages to keep things barreling forward at a good clip. The four main actors do it all—singing, dancing, slapstick comedy—with madcap enthusiasm. Gray moves seamlessly from deadpan sarcasm to high comedy, sometimes within a single scene, and his ad-libbed asides had the audience in stitches (if that’s not insensitive in this context). Even his more lascivious scenes with Cahill’s Swedish sexpot (a Mel Brooks mainstay) somehow manage to avoid sleaziness. Cahill mines about as much comedy as you can out of a somewhat thankless role, displaying a real flair for physical comedy. Saucedo puts his own stamp on the role of Igor (or “Eye-gore”), and Gay really lets her hair down (literally and figuratively) as stern Frau Blucher, whose relationship with Frederick’s grandfather may have been a little more…intimate than usual with a housekeeper and her, er, housekeep-ee?
Special shoutout to Mary Gilbreath Grim’s Hermit, who showcases a brassy set of Ethel-Merman-esque pipes in her plaintive “Please Send Me Someone.” Leslie Collins makes the most of her limited stage time as Frederick’s frigid fiancée, whose up-close-and-personal encounter with the Monster brings out her wild side. Rounding out the cast is Aaron Mateo Arroyo, tearing great chunks out of the scenery as Inspector Kemp, sporting an eyepatch and a nearly incomprehensible accent. And kudos to Escamilla for stepping in at the last minute as the show’s Monster, showing off not only his shambling chops but his toe-tapping skills in the showstopper “Puttin’ On The Ritz.”
Scenic Designer Bob Lavallee has transformed Circle’s theater space into an ominous stone castle, with cleverly disguised spaces for stage lights and fog machines (frequently employed). The best sport of the production might be music director Cody Dry, who provides the musical backdrop but is also a part of the action, albeit under a sheet now and again. The costumes (from designer Natalie Rose Mabry) are fun and expressive. I particularly liked Frederick’s fussy blue sweater vest and Elizabeth’s showy floor-length gowns, but the night’s real standouts were the glitzy showbiz outfits for “Puttin’ On The Ritz”—from the Monster’s gold sequined blazer to Inga and Frau Blucher’s green showgirl extravaganzas.
Sometimes you go to the theater for high drama, elevated language, catharsis. This is not that show. But if you’re looking for sheer silly fun, you can’t beat Circle’s Young Frankenstein (the Musical) with a stick. Grab the show’s signature “brain freeze” concoction, and settle in for goofs and gags aplenty.
WHEN: Through July 23
WHERE: Circle Theatre, 230 W. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
