Young Frankenstein @ Theatre Three

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Schmidt

—Jill Sweeney

It’s déjà vu all over again for this critic, as I reviewed this co-production of Young Frankenstein (the Musical) for its initial run at Fort Worth’s Circle Theatre (click here for that review). But the show’s second coming at Theatre Three still had a few surprises up its sleeve, and the more spacious environs give director Joel Ferrell room for the show to really let its hair down.

Parker Gray as Frederick Frankenstein (the original mad scientist’s grandson) continues to keep the audience in stitches. With his boyish face and ever-raunchier ad libbing, he’s the perfect ringleader for the increasingly silly circus over which he presides. He and the trio at the heart of the musical (Alejandro Saucedo as hunchbacked minion Igor, Annie Olive Cahill as Frederick’s buxom new lab assistant Inga, and Sarah Gay as Castle Frankenstein’s redoubtable housekeeper Frau Blucher) seem even more comfortable and loose in these roles, tossing off one-liners referencing the show’s initial Fort Worth run. I was glad to see Aaron Mateo Arroyo reprise his role as Inspector Kemp, and even though I missed Mary Gilbreath Grim’s Merman-esque interpretation of the Hermit’s big musical number, Arroyo brought laughs aplenty to this additional role.

But my biggest pleasure in seeing the piece again was finally getting to see Luke Longacre’s Monster (I saw swing Edward Michael Escamilla in the Fort Worth run). Longacre, an imposing physical presence onstage, is fantastic, at turns terrifying and hilarious. His star turn in “Puttin’ On the Ritz” was riotously funny, as was his surprisingly sexy presence in “Deep Love” sung by Frederick’s fiancée Elizabeth (the terrific Leslie Marie Collins) as an ode to finding the kind of love that fits you just right (wink wink, nudge nudge).

Scenic designer Bob Lavallee has reinterpreted his original set to fit Theatre Three’s space, with some gains and some losses. I liked the miniature Castle Frankenstein that loomed over the action, though the hidden passage behind the bookshelf was a more clunky proposition in this production, and had to be aided by visible stagehands. The lack of suitable walls for hanging portraits did give Gay one of her best moments, gruffly ordering various audience members in the front row to hold up a portrait of the original Dr. Frankenstein (her “boyfriend”) for large chunks of one scene.

So, if you missed Young Frankenstein at its Circle Theatre run, rejoice—it’s alive, and you’ve got another shot at it! And if you did happen to see it, there’s enough new fun in its Theatre Three reincarnation to justify a repeat.

WHEN: Through November 13th

WHERE: 2688 Laclede St, Dallas, TX 75201

WEB: theatre3dallas.com