Mel Brooks' hit 1974 film Young Frankenstein is a satirical homage to the 1931 James Whale monster movie, Frankenstein. Like most of Brooks' works, the film employs generous use of broad comedy, but it is one of his funniest and is more grounded than many of his others. This is partly due to Mel Brooks' decision to film the movie in black-and-white. He was so firm in this decision that his original deal to make the film fell through when the studio didn't agree. Brooks is quoted as having said "We said, 'if we make the monster green, it'll be [like] a Halloween mask. It will not have the gravity. It won't have the depth. It won't have the power of the James Whale movie."
The 2007 full-color stage musical version is a faithful adaptation of the movie with a nearly identical script. In a bold move, to pay homage in turn, director James Bryan decided to recreate the black-and-white portrayal for LTVB's production. Making black-and-white work in a live stage production requires every aspect of the show to comply to grayscale and work in perfect continuity. The costumes - designed by Kay Burcher and Karen Buchheim - are astounding. The Theater Stud can't imagine the amount of work that had to go into keeping the costumes consistent in period, color scheme, and scene-appropriateness. The costumes run the gamut from a simple cloak to a glittery formal dress to a horse head, and all but one - a green-tinted dress towards the end of the show - fall perfectly into the black-and-white aesthetic. Ellen Moore's lighting design is similarly confined to shades of white. Any colorful spot lens would ruin the scene. And yet, the lighting is active and constantly changes throughout the show, brightening and opening the stage with appropriate opportunity. Then there is the set.
The path of least resistance would be to minimize the set and allow the costumes, lighting, and actors to do the heavy lifting to maintain the integrity of the black-and-white. Instead, we are treated to a set - designed by Donna Lawheed with scenic design by Tom Coffey and Jessy Davis - that demands its own accolades. The Theater Stud cannot say enough about this set. The opening scenes are played far downstage making use of the black curtain behind the actors. As the cast approaches the castle, the curtains open up to a gate with large doors. After they gain entry to the castle, the set piece rotates to display a study with bookcases and turning walls. They are expertly painted. The fully-stocked book shelves appeared to be a painted wall until Dr. Frankenstein (Joe Siejak) reached in and pulled on one of the many black-and-white books to find the secret passage. The set further opens up once the secret passage is discovered, and it is beautiful. There is a plethora of detail in every turn of the set, all painted within the grayscale, but looking as three dimensional and interesting as the most colorful of sets. There is gray smoke that pours out of the chambers as Igor (Matt Downey) pulls the levers on top of the two level set. There is a gray curtain stage-right that conceals yet another black-and-white painted room. The fine detail, special effects, multiple sprawling and expanding layers all stay within the black-and-white scheme to create possibly the best set The Theater Stud has ever seen.
The final piece of the black-and-white puzzle is the makeup, designed by Wendy Roache. The majority of the cast has grayscale wigs and well-blended makeup. Most of the actors look like they came directly out of a black-and-white film onto the stage. Most is not all, however, and curiously the makeup is very poorly done on the two main characters - Dr. Frankenstein (Joe Siejak) and The Monster (Robert Shirley). Neither Siejak nor Shirley is wigged and both have obviously brown hair, which is distracting and odd as the ensemble has wigs. Siejak's face makeup looks caked on haphazardly and is absent from his neck, hair line, hands, and arms. Shirley was inexplicably green, which is a glaring contradiction to everything else on stage and is directly at odds with Brooks' rationale.
Siejak is in his element as Dr. Frankenstein. He comfortably commands the stage with charisma and humor. His dancing is smooth while maintaining his character and humor, and he frequently uses his tall, lanky physique to bring an element of physical comedy to the role that notably separates his performance from Gene Wilder's in the film. His singing isn't nearly as strong as his other tools, but is adequate for the role. Matt Downey is a hilarious and energetic Igor with golden comedic timing. It is truly hard to keep your eyes off of him while he's on stage. Molly Morneault is a lovely Inga with a strong voice and good chemistry with Siejak. Her yodeling hayride deserves special kudos. Kathy Hinson's impressive voice is on full display as Elizabeth, particularly during "Deep Love." She also has an outstanding ability to ground the over-the-top comedy to a more nuanced, still-hilarious character, as evidenced by her rare capacity for taking one-joke songs (three of them, to be exact) and making them consistently funny. Kay Burcher delivers some of the funniest moments of the night as Frau Blücher (neigh). Her rendition of "He Vas My Boyfriend" is show-stopping. Vincent DeSanto (Victor von Frankenstein) and Cliff Hoffman (The Hermit) are both capable character actors with lots of energy in their scenes. Robert Shirley is hilarious, but an atypical choice for The Monster, given the fact that he isn't as tall as Siejak - even in 6 inch platform shoes - and the fact that when he sings "Deep Love (Reprise)" in the final moments of the show it is evident that he has the best male voice in the cast. He successfully avoids copying Peter Boyle's iconic film performance of "Puttin' on the Ritz" - but manages to be just as funny - and makes the character's stark transition at the end of the show seamless.
Choreography (Karen Buchheim) was energetic and tight. There are many ensemble dance scenes in the show and the choreography is enthusiastic and generally well-executed, although out of rhythm in the tap scene. It doesn't help that the music is pre-recorded tracks at a set tempo, seemingly only coming from the house-left speakers. The tracks are often muddled and are played at inconsistent volume which hurts ensemble vocal energy. Music direction, provided by Laura Oliver, is made more difficult by a weak sound system. Solo and duet songs are usually performed well, while the group numbers are less consistent, but still enjoyable.
Final Thoughts: Young Frankenstein is a great time with a funny, enjoyable cast with several standouts. James Bryan's direction is solid, and his research into making the black-and-white theme come to life pays dividends. If the lead actors' makeup had been smoother, The Theater Stud would have gotten lost in the show forgetting that it was being portrayed in grayscale. Expect the sound system to be a little weak, but also expect a night full of belly-laughs. The show is well worth it.
-Jonathan McCormick
Final Thoughts: Young Frankenstein is a great time with a funny, enjoyable cast with several standouts. James Bryan's direction is solid, and his research into making the black-and-white theme come to life pays dividends. If the lead actors' makeup had been smoother, The Theater Stud would have gotten lost in the show forgetting that it was being portrayed in grayscale. Expect the sound system to be a little weak, but also expect a night full of belly-laughs. The show is well worth it.
-Jonathan McCormick
Performances run thru August 9th, Friday - Saturday at 8 p.m. and
Sundays at 2:30 p.m. at the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach
550 Barberton Drive, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451.
Tickets are $20 ($17 for matinees, $8 for children) with discounts for seniors, students and active military.
No comments:
Post a Comment