A treat to watch: Young Frankenstein review

Mel Brooks is back with another adaptation – having brought his hit comedy The Producers to the stage, a musical version of spoof horror comedy Young Frankenstein came to the UK this year. After having watched it in the Garrick Theatre, I can confirm that fans of Brooks, and fans of comedy in general, will not be disappointed with this gag-filled show. Although the musical elements may not be the strongest, it will have you chuckling throughout.

The show is the story of Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced Fronkensteen, played by Hadley Freeman), grandson of the mad scientist Dr Victor von Frankenstein. Learning he has inherited his grandfather’s castle, he heads to Transylvania to resolve the property issue. There, he meets the hunchback Igor (Ross Noble), yodelling lab assistant Inga (Summer Strallen) and housekeeper Frau Blücher (Lesley Joseph). He is soon encouraged to join the family business and build a new monster, although things don’t go entirely to plan…

Although the musical elements may not be the strongest, it will have you chuckling throughout

Young Frankenstein on stage is essentially a translation of the film, with few changes aside from the insertion of the songs. Most of the key moments are there, from the neighing horses at the sound of Frau Blücher’s name to the blind hermit who greets the monster, and they were all warmly received by an audience that clearly knew the movie. Brooks and Thomas Meehan have done an excellent job of transferring the film to the stage, and retaining the essence of what made it such a funny movie in the first place – even those unfamiliar to the movie will enjoy it (and if you are unfamiliar with it, drop what you’re doing and go rectify that!).

Half of the infectious fun of the play stems from a cast that is evidently loving the material. Freeman, as Frankenstein, captures the same manic energy that original star Gene Wilder brought to the movie – something toeing the line between insanity and brilliance – and he plays well against Ross Noble as Igor (an inspired bit of casting if there ever was one). Joseph and Strallen are fine with their parts, even if the script doesn’t allow them much in the way of development, and a special mention must go to Nic Greenshields as the monster. Right until the end, he has to convey everything physically, and he manages to be threatening and hilarious in equal measures.

Young Frankenstein on stage is essentially a translation of the film, with few changes aside from the insertion of the songs

Where I found the musical to struggle most of all was in the songs. They are perfectly fine tunes, very funny lyrically and enjoyable while they last (even though they have a knack for being just a touch too overlong), but none of them have a lasting quality to them. It’s easy to forget them the moment they finish – the sole exception is the only song from the film, ‘Puttin’ On the Ritz,’ which crops up during one of the show’s highpoints: Frederick’s presentation of the monster to a theatre audience of Transylvanians and scientists.

There’s also a lot of sex – I don’t think I’d be understating it to say that half the dialogue is concerned, explicitly or implicitly, with sex or smut. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s really funny when it’s done well – having a character sing the word ‘tits’ about twenty times is not doing it well. I’ve no issue with smut, but there were moments when I thought it could have been dialled down just a little bit.

I’ve no issue with smut, but there were moments when I thought it could have been dialled down just a little bit

Despite some musical weakness and some very overdone sexual references, Young Frankenstein is a treat to watch, whether you’ve seen the film or not. It is a very entertaining show, although perhaps one to go to for the humour rather than the tunes.