SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #16 - The Producers (2002, St. James Theatre, New York City, NY)
Introduction: Hard as it is to comprehend that we're already 119 months into this "new" millennium, we are fast approaching the end of its first decade. While we have yet to agree on what exactly we should call the '00s, I'll take a cue from the fine folks at The Times of London and the BBC and henceforth refer to them at the Noughties. With that small introduction, I'm pleased to present my list of plays and musicals that wowed me the most during that time. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of shows I've seen over the last ten years, I give you my countdown of my 25 personal favorite shows of the Noughties. While
Nathan Lane was already calling in sick by the time I saw
Mel Brooks' celebrated musical
The Producers for my first time,
Brad Oscar and
Matthew Broderick had so much chemistry as Max and Leo that I almost forgot that one of the stars I paid to see was out. Almost.
Fortunately, I was able to return. And return again. My third time was the charm in getting to see Lane opposite Broderick. This dynamic duo played so incredibly well off each other that it was no wonder the audience roared with perhaps the highest decibel levels of approving laughter I've ever heard.
Say what you will about the more recent Rialto outings by Brooks, Lane and Broderick, but for a brief shining moment the trio simultaneously held the crown as the three kings of Broadway.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. I paid my own way for all three performances.
Labels: Brad Oscar, Broadway, Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks, Musical, Nathan Lane, SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties, The Producers
Frühling Für HitlerAt long last,
Mel Brooks is getting the last laugh as his beloved film-cum-stage musical
The Producers has now opened in Berlin.
The New York Times'
Michael Kimmelman answers his own questions:
The big question might really be, Can Germans finally give themselves over to laughing at Jews, gay people and just about everybody and anybody else whom Mr. Brooks skewers, turning the tables on (Adolph) Hitler’s own hate list?
Yes, yes, yes, as that other fictional Bloom, married to a different Leopold, more or less once put it.
As someone of German stock, I know how stoic many Germans can be, and having traveled to Berlin countless times over the last 20 years, I appreciate how positively unforgiving they are over Hitler and the
Holocaust. So, more than 60 years after those unspeakable crimes against humanity, it's great to see that the Germans are now able to laugh derisively at one of history's most evil men.
I'd say that's real progress.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Germany, Mel Brooks, The Producers
Another One Bites The DustDespite never knowing for certain just how shaky
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein has been faring at the box office (although with the deep discounts it's been offering, the writing's been on the wall), it's been an open secret that the show was in need of a major jolt to keep it going.
Alas, this evening, it was announced that the tuner adapted by Brooks from his cult film comedy classic would close on January 4, 2009, after 484 regular performances.
And you know what? As much as
I actually enjoyed myself the first time I saw the show during its Seattle tryouts, I have to say good riddance.
Punch drunk from the enormous success of
The Producers, which won more Tony Awards than any other Broadway show in history, Brooks & Co. did everything conceivable in their power to alienate virtually everyone against
Young Frankenstein, starting when they circled the
Hilton Theatre and its
previous occupant like vultures, followed by his
infamous snub of
Cloris Leachman, followed by
their greedy announcement that they'd have the audacity to charge a record-breaking $450 for premium seats, followed by the decision
not to follow Broadway precedent by releasing weekly grosses.
By the time the show finally opened,
most critics had their knives out. Never mind that it actually was kind of entertaining. Now, the jig is up, and I dare say no one is crying over the loss of this one.
If ever there was a textbook example of how not to open a show or engender goodwill on the Great White Way, this is the one they'll be studying for years. Let's just hope they've learned a valuable lesson that won't soon be repeated.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Box Office, Broadway, Cloris Leachman, Closing Notices, Mel Brooks, Musical, Young Frankenstein
Last Dance To Last Laugh?Sure, she may no longer be a "
Dancing With The Stars" contestant -- and the oldest one ever at that -- but her Herculean antics on the
ABC series may have earned
Cloris Leachman a second look by
Mel Brooks for his
Young Frankenstein Broadway musical.
Passed over initially because Brooks didn't want her to "
die on stage," Leachman challenged him via her representative Steve Rohr "to three rounds in the ring, and we'll see who's left standing."
What a difference a slice of reality television can make. Leachman is asked about a second crack at
Young Frankenstein in a
Q&A with Newsweek:
Is it true Mel Brooks wants you to reprise your part in Young Frankenstein on Broadway?
Yeah. We're negotiating.
He once said you were so old, he worried you'd die onstage.
He's not worried anymore. Corky [Ballas, her dance partner on the show] threw me around today on "The View," and I thought I was dead when I stood up. I can't tell you—I really thought I died! I thought I was in heaven.
If Brooks manages to bring the 82 year old actress back to the Broadway boards for her first time in nearly 50 years, far from being a neigh-sayer, I'll be happy to plunk down a little spare cash to cheer her on and hear those horses whinny but good.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Cloris Leachman, Dancing With The Stars, Mel Brooks, Musical, Reality Television, Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein Discontinues Premium Ticket PricesWill wonders never cease?
Today, I learned that the $450 ultra deluxe platinum double diamond elite priority supreme premium maximum ticket prices for
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein are history!
After viewing the less than inspiring
new television commercial for the current occupant of Broadway's
Hilton Theatre that touts, "All tickets are $50 to $120," I decided to test whether this come-on was just that, or if there was actually truth in advertising. What I discovered is that on the official
Ticketmaster Web site, there are absolutely no options for any type of premium seating whatsoever. (No word yet on whether they've also discontinued the
$25 daily ticket lottery.)
While it's better late than never -- although the
handwriting had been on the wall for quite some time -- it's not likely to ever reap much goodwill from the community it had largely thumbed its nose at over the past year.
Still, the
show is more enjoyable than
most critics give it credit for. So score one for the audience in their ongoing battle to avoid ever-increasing ticket prices.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Young Frankenstein (The SOB Review) (February, 15, 2008)
Who Knew? (February 3, 2008)
"Mel Fought Me Tooth And Nail" (February 2, 2008)
Is It Just Me, Or... (Part III) (January 22, 2008)
Live By The $450 Ticket, Die By The $450 Ticket? (January 4, 2008)
SOB's Singular Sensations Of '07 - Honorable Mentions (December 31, 2007)
Did Critics Think Young Frankenstein Was Putzin' On The Shtick? (November 8, 2007)
It's Alive! Young Frankenstein Opens On Broadway (November 8, 2007)
Bart's Back: Bad Omen? (October 24, 2007)
The Broadway Theatres Not Impacted By Labor Dispute (October 17, 2007)
Shubert Alley Schadenfreude, Or Mel's Funk (October 11, 2007)
Once Again, I Have To Ask.... (September 20, 2007)
Young Frankenstein's Gross Out Factor (September 7, 2007)
Seattle Times: Young Frankenstein's Shtick Gets Old (August 24, 2007)
Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Mel Brooks, Musical, Ticket Prices, Ticketmaster, Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Review) – Hilton Theatre, New York, NY
**1/2 (out of ****)With all due apologies to
Jacqueline Susann, could it be that once
is enough?
Regular readers will recall that I took in one of
the very first previews of
Mel Brooks’
Young Frankenstein last summer, during its world premiere engagement in Seattle. And boy,
was I engaged. Even though I realized what I was seeing would be fine tuned and shortened, I laughed myself silly.
And boy, oh boy, was I ever surprised when the unusually harsh backlash against the show intensified all the more with some truly devastating
critical reviews. After having been so taken by the show in Seattle, I couldn’t help but believe that most critics allowed the much publicized foibles to seep into their largely venomous views of the show itself.
So I finally took in the final product at Broadway’s
Hilton Theatre. This time, I even managed to snag one of those front-row seats in the
daily lottery. But boy, did I ever walk away feeling not quite as engaged.
What happened?
As
noted in a previous post, the last few months have not exactly been a picnic for me, so you’d think that this all-out candy show would have served as the perfect confection to allow me to forget about life for a while. But it wasn’t.
As expected, the show was winnowed down, although not as much as it should have been. The most noticeable cut was of one superfluous song that really didn’t fit in the Seattle tryout – a tune for
Megan Mullally called “Alone.”
What made me enjoy
Young Frankenstein so immensely last summer was my personal affection for the film version. I realize now that like so many other fans of the
original movie, my eager anticipation for seeing every element -- right down to the “nice knockers” -- and hearing every last funny line delivered anew, live on stage, was what made seeing it for the first time so much fun.
But as with any second viewing, you tend to notice things that you overlooked the first time or chose to ignore.
In my overlooked department was its relatively simplistic score. Mel Brooks' efforts results in a curious cross between predictable thirties-style vaudeville shtick (“Together Again For The First Time” and “Transylvania Mania”) and
klezmer band music (“Join The Family Business” and “He Vas My Boyfriend”).
Also overlooked was how this
Young Frankenstein is about excess. It’s a surprise that the kitchen sink never actually materializes because Brooks throws just about everything else into it. Virtually every joke, sight gag and song is beaten into the ground, just in case we missed it the first time. At least it remains visually stunning.
Among the elements I ignored earlier was Mel and
Thomas Meehan’s propensity toward bathroom humor, along with Brooks' apparent and ultimately annoying phallic fixation. One can’t help wonder if the little feller has some issues of his own.
But Steve, you ask, do you still think the show is any good? Well, yes. It is
much better than most critics will ever give it credit for, and if you
are a fan of the movie, you’ll certainly get a thrill out of seeing this show and its Monster literally come to life.
The first act is really quite a visual treat, from the initial ride to Frankenstein’s castle to the moment when The Monster comes alive. The act also offers the best performances by its cast, particularly
Christopher Fitzgerald (Igor),
Andrea Martin (Frau Blucher), and
Sutton Foster (Inga). Check out
my initial preview review to see why these folks don’t disappoint.
But aside from the spectacular -- and in the end, spectacularly excessive – “Puttin’ On The Ritz” number, the second act falls apart. It’s not aided by the admittedly popular Hermit scene, which fails to move the story along in any meaningful way, other than to give the solid
Fred Applegate a chance to shine. The act then limps along to a rather lame ending, and is not helped by its shameless come on that next up would be a musical version of “
Blazing Saddles.”
For any fan of the film version, you’ll feel like you’re together again for the first time. But if you’re like me, once was enough.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Broadway, Film, Mel Brooks, Musical, The SOB Review, Young Frankenstein
Live By The $450 Ticket, Die By The $450 Ticket?Although
no one really knows just how much
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein is earning each week or how many seats it's filling -- that is, unless you're intimately involved with the production --
New York Post's
Michael Riedel reports that scalpers outside the barn-like
Hilton Theatre are hawking tickets that were to have gone for
$450 for a bargain basement $100.
Riedel quotes one saying:
I've got rows and rows of good seats I can't get rid of.
Shubert Alley Schadenfreude, indeed.
One can't help but wonder if
Live Nation, which owns the Hilton, is
openly showing off the digs to potential new tenants...
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:SOB's Singular Sensations Of '07 - Honorable Mentions (December 31, 2007)
Did Critics Think Young Frankenstein Was Putzin' On The Shtick? (November 8, 2007)
It's Alive! Young Frankenstein Opens On Broadway (November 8, 2007)
Bart's Back: Bad Omen? (October 24, 2007)
The Broadway Theatres Not Impacted By Labor Dispute (October 17, 2007)
Shubert Alley Schadenfreude, Or Mel's Funk (October 11, 2007)
Once Again, I Have To Ask.... (September 20, 2007)
Young Frankenstein's Gross Out Factor (September 7, 2007)
Seattle Times: Young Frankenstein's Shtick Gets Old (August 24, 2007)
Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Box Office, Mel Brooks, Michael Riedel, Ticket Prices, Young Frankenstein
Did Critics Think Young Frankenstein Was Putzin' On The Shtick?So much for being anything coming close to resembling a monster hit. Instead, critics smelled blood.
Earlier this evening,
Mel Brooks' much anticipated
Young Frankenstein opened to what can only be described as largely disappointing initial reviews. Every single one invariably compared this effort with the ecstatically-acclaimed
The Producers, which took home 12 Tony Awards in 2001. The critics largely thought the songs to be unmemorable with
Roger Bart and
Megan Mullally taking their share of the hits, while
Andrea Martin,
Christopher Fitzgerald,
Sutton Foster and
Shuler Hensley earning what outright praise could be offered.
Proffering that
Young Frankenstein is "not exactly the requisite delirium the best musical comedy can provide," the review by
Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press is a mixed bag: "The musical's intentions aren't as clear since song and dance get in the way of the parody, diluting the spoofing....Frustratingly, Bart never gets to burst out with a show stopper of his own. Martin, though, provides some sassy, salacious humor, hilariously channeling the sexual repression of the housekeeper Frau Blucher....
Young Frankenstein should do wonders for the career of Christopher Fitzgerald, an athletic scamp of a guy who portrays Frankenstein's devoted, demented sidekick, Igor. Verbally and physically, the man can command the stage."
Saying that the show is funny "sometimes,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer is also mixed tending toward negative: "The expert actors are never less than enjoyable as characters created, unforgettably, by the now-iconic movie cast. And Andrea Martin's Frau Blucher and Shuler Hensley's Monster are demonically adorable....But the sweat of competence drives too much of the vintage Brooks humor this time, and the staging by ace director-choreographer
Susan Stroman seems more formula than invention."
Claiming that "lightning hasn't struck twice," when making his inevitable comparison with
The Producers,
David Rooney of
Variety still ends up offering a middling to positive critique: "[A]show that could have been a blast ends up being just good enough....But it's a far more mechanical creation, with little of the heart or liberating belly laughs of its predecessor....Standouts are the indispensable Andrea Martin as sinister haushag Frau Blucher and Christopher Fitzgerald as hunchback Igor. Fitzgerald does the impossible by claiming a role forged by
Marty Feldman as his own inexhaustibly vaudevillian comic creation."
Complaining that it left him "with a monster-size headache,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley only laughed three times: "[M]oney can’t buy you flair. It can’t even buy you laughs....And if the headline stars, Mr. Bart (in the title role) and
Megan Mullally (as his Park Avenue fiancée), don’t feel naturally wedded to their roles, the production does offer confirmation of the distinctive, very different talents of Sutton Foster, Shuler Hensley and Andrea Martin. The show takes many of the elements that made
The Producers such a delight and then saps them of their joy by overselling them."
Accusing Brooks & Co. of having " just made
Young Frankenstein its victim,"
USA Today's
Robert Bianco offers two-and-a-half stars: "What worked on film works, for the most part, on stage. It's when the show gets inventive, expansive and, well, musical that it gets into trouble....too many songs are dull, too many seem randomly inserted, and almost all either send the story wandering off in pointless new directions or extend old bits that were funnier shorter. The songwriting skill Brooks showed in
The Producers is absent here....Struggling to hold his own against the more colorful secondary characters, Bart sends his voice screeching up to a register that, when overamplified, threatens to scratch glass. Luckily, Foster, Fitzgerald and Martin compensate -- with Martin's hilariously varied response to those whinnying horses almost worth the price of admission on its own. Hensley makes 'Puttin' on the Ritz' the show-stopper it should be."
UPDATED (November 9, 2007 - 9:37 am EST)"Although
Young Frankenstein isn't the joyous celebration one hoped for," for
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News, he still musters a marginally positive review: "Make no mistake: The show is big and entertaining. But it never matches the delirious thrills of
The Producers, whose creative team regrouped to make this monster musical based on Brooks' 1974 horror-film spoof....Many of Brooks' songs disappoint, though. They lack the snap and wit he's shown before and do nothing to move the story along....Roger Bart heads the terrific cast as the mad doctor, Frederick Frankenstein. He sings and dances with enormous ease and charisma and acts with the right neurotic edge. Christopher Fitzgerald makes a fitting and very funny Igor, his humpbacked helper."
Lamenting that "it is not the
The Producers,"
New York Post's
Clive Barnes still offers a solid three-star review: "Despite music that's more ho-hum than hummable, Brooks's lyrics are bright and witty. Better yet, the book -- maintaining virtually all of those iconic quotable quotes -- does a great job, with the assistance of co-writer
Thomas Meehan, in transferring the original script to the stage. An even greater job is done by Stroman whose staging, choreography and supervising of special effects manage to suggest the Broadway musical at its dizziest, glitziest and funniest. In her entire career, Stroman has done nothing better - she even outproduces her work on
The Producers."
However, blasting this as a "shrill, misbegotten, deeply cynical enterprise,"
Eric Grode of
The New York Sun submits perhaps the deepest pan: "[W]ith the exception of about a dozen jokes (nearly all of which were pulled verbatim from the film) and an Act II showstopper, the final product has a shockingly lackadaisical, dashed-off quality that no amount of whiz-bang stagecraft can conceal....Sadly, however, the shrewd casting does not extend to its Doctor Frankenstein. Roger Bart (the lisping Carmen Ghia from
The Producers) has been square-pegged into the straight-man role, one for which he is particularly ill suited. Rather than attempting to rein in the surrounding madcaps until the effort occasionally reduces him to hysterics, which would have recalled Gene Wilder in the film, Mr. Bart performs nearly every scene in an exasperated shriek that brings to mind an unmodulated
Nathan Lane."
So there you have it, no rapturous (and mostly mixed at best) reviews and every single one makes comparisons with Brooks' greatest hit
The Producers. Will this matter when Brooks & Co. supposedly have over $30 million in advance ticket sales? Probably not, but it sure could bring down the top ticket pricing in a hurry....yet Mel Brooks may still be laughing all the way to the bank.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:It's Alive! Young Frankenstein Opens On Broadway (November 8, 2007)
Bart's Back: Bad Omen? (October 24, 2007)
The Broadway Theatres Not Impacted By Labor Dispute (October 17, 2007)
Shubert Alley Schadenfreude, Or Mel's Funk (October 11, 2007)
Once Again, I Have To Ask.... (September 20, 2007)
Young Frankenstein's Gross Out Factor (September 7, 2007)
Seattle Times: Young Frankenstein's Shtick Gets Old (August 24, 2007)
Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Andrea Martin, Broadway, Christopher Fitzgerald, Critics' Capsule, Film, Mel Brooks, Musical, Roger Bart, The Producers, Young Frankenstein
It's Alive! Young Frankenstein Opens On BroadwayIt all comes down to this evening.
After months and months of negative publicity for
charging $450 for the top seats,
not publicly sharing the grosses,
not paying dues for the Dramatists Guild,
dumping the beloved Cloris Leachman, and
star Roger Bart's bad back,
Mel Brooks' second film adaptation to be turned into a big splashy Broadway musical finally opens this evening.
Brooks' beloved
film Young Frankenstein gets fine tunered with the help of
Thomas Meehan and director/choreographer
Susan Stroman.
Bart takes on the title role, with
Megan Mullally, ahem, assuming the position of Elizabeth,
Andrea Martin instilling fear in horses as Frau Blucher,
Christopher Fitzgerald humping along as Igor,
Sutton Foster rolling in der hay as Inga and
Shuler Hensley puttin' on the ritz as the Monster.
While I've been highly critical of the aforementioned offenses, I also have been able to separate those issues from my enjoyment of the show during its Seattle tryouts. As cathartic as dissing it with a stinging review might have been,
I'm the first to admit that I rather liked Young Frankenstein.
The real test with tonight's opening and tomorrow's reviews is whether the critics can do the same, or if they'll use the "this was too much like the movie" line to pile on. Find out tomorrow in my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Bart's Back: Bad Omen? (October 24, 2007)
The Broadway Theatres Not Impacted By Labor Dispute (October 17, 2007)
Shubert Alley Schadenfreude, Or Mel's Funk (October 11, 2007)
Once Again, I Have To Ask.... (September 20, 2007)
Young Frankenstein's Gross Out Factor (September 7, 2007)
Seattle Times: Young Frankenstein's Shtick Gets Old (August 24, 2007)
Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Andrea Martin, Broadway, Christopher Fitzgerald, Film, Megan Mullally, Mel Brooks, Musical, Opening Night, Roger Bart, Sutton Foster, Thomas Meehan, Young Frankenstein
Bart's Back: Bad Omen?It's never a good sign when one of the key principals in a new show is out with an injury, but that's the case with
Roger Bart in
Young Frankenstein.
Bart has been sidelined, at least temporarily, with a lower back injury. As a result, he's missed some performances since the October 13 matinee.
First I heard of it was via
Chris Caggiano of
Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, who posted his scathing review of the show on Monday. Chris saw understudy
Matthew LaBanca in the role of Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, whom he described as "game and energetic, and almost letter-perfect in his knowledge of the role. The audience didn't seem to care that the actor playing the title character was out." A pity about the show itself.
Over at the
New York Post, columnist
Michael Riedel uses the opportunity to joke about the show:
Roger Bart, will be out at least until the weekend due to a bad back. (And he hasn't even read his reviews yet.)
Riedel goes on to say that the dark horse in this year's Tony derby may very well be
Cry-Baby, especially since the buzz he's hearing out the
Hilton Theatre ain't that great about
Mel and his new show.
What's that line from the "
Cell Block Tango"? Something about "He had it coming!"?!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Buzz, Chris Caggiano, Cry-Baby, Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, Mel Brooks, Michael Riedel, Musical, Roger Bart, Young Frankenstein
Shubert Alley Schadenfreude, Or Mel's FunkYou've got a
brand new Broadway musical follow-up to the top Tony winner of all time -- a show that begins previews this evening in spite of the
ongoing labor strife at virtually every other Broadway theatre.
You're
charging $450 for the top seats -- an all-time record.
You're
not publicly sharing the grosses -- a time-honored tradition.
And
apparently you're not even sharing your success with your fellow writers by paying your dues for the
Dramatists Guild.
You're
Mel Brooks.
Break a leg.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Lockout Likely (October 10, 2007)
Once Again, I Have To Ask.... (September 20, 2007)
Young Frankenstein's Gross Out Factor (September 7, 2007)
Seattle Times: Young Frankenstein's Shtick Gets Old (August 24, 2007)
Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Dramatists Guild, Film, Grosses, Mel Brooks, Musical, Previews, The Producers, Ticket Prices, Young Frankenstein
High Anxiety Over What Follows Young Frankenstein?With
Young Frankenstein nearly ready for prime time on the Great White Way, what will
Mel Brooks & Co. do for an encore?
Many have assumed that a stage adaptation of "Blazing Saddles" would be next. Not so fast.
In a
New York magazine profile on Brooks, Boris Kachka says of the comedic genius, "More ambiguous is his reaction when I tell him that I’ve heard he’s considering adapting the broader, bawdier
Blazing Saddles."
Indeed, in a
Bloomberg story by Philip Boroff, Brooks collaborator
Thomas Meehan says, "It could be
'High Anxiety'....That's the leading candidate."
Hat tip to regular SOB reader Esther, for pointing me toward the two stories.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Blazing Saddles, Broadway, High Anxiety, Mel Brooks, Musical, Thomas Meehan, Young Frankenstein
Seattle Times: Young Frankenstein's Shtick Gets OldThe first official "mainstream media" review of
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein is out from
Misha Berson of The Seattle Times.
You may recall from my "preview" that I gleefully credited "Brooks and
Thomas Meehan for embracing all of the signature lines and hysterical bits from the
film and running with them."
Apparently, Berson is having none of that.
In fact, the review explicitly states, "[I]t has not yet escaped the looming shadow of its celluloid model and come into its own. Staged by (
Susan) Stroman with impressive fluidity given its heft,
Young Frankenstein has a cast of expert merry-makers, shtick galore, winning dance numbers, elaborate sets by
Robin Wagner that are marvels of seamless stage technology, and all the explosions, fog, and wowie lighting effects (by
Peter Kaczorowski) a rumored $20 million budget can buy. But the humor is choppy, and the one-liners repeated from the film script (by Brooks and
Gene Wilder) can fall flat. The musical is freshest and funniest in the second act, when it stops doggedly aping the film, and lets the actors concoct their own comic chemistry."
Of the cast,
Christopher Fitzgerald (Igor) is deemed "terrific," exuding "much goofy verve of his own" and the "incomparable"
Andrea Martin gets well-earned praise ("her brooding Frau Blucher is a wacko joy").
However, the leads aren't registering with Berson.
Roger Bart is "the actor most burdened" who "overworks the exasperated shrieking he borrows from Wilder's Frederick. One hopes Bart finds his own groove soon."
Megan Mullally "is amusing, but not virginal -- which undercuts the joke of Elizabeth's sexual awakening."
Sutton Foster is "a fine singer, a champion yodeler, and a dexterous dancer. But she barely registers a personality."
In summary, I'll leave the final word to Berson, who concludes: "And though it may well draw crowds in any case, a less clonelike
Young Frankenstein would be a better justification for all the expense and talent lavished on this celluloid spin-off when it lurches onto Broadway."
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Broadway).Related Stories:Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Film, Mel Brooks, Musical, Seattle, Tryout, Young Frankenstein
A Tale Of Two Tryout CitiesTwo of the 2007-08 Theatrical Season's most anticipated shows are opening this evening during their out-of-town tryouts:
Young Frankenstein at Seattle's
Paramount and
The Little Mermaid at Denver's
Center for Performing Arts Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
Both represent ultra high-profile, high-stake mega-million gambits on former
big screen favorites revamped as big Broadway musicals.
For
Mel Brooks, the pressure's on in the Pacific Northwest to prove that he's not a one-hit wonder for his Rialto adaptation of
The Producers (Brooks' other three outings on the Great White Way were
way back in the
fifties and
sixties).
Just across the Rocky Mountains,
Disney Theatrical Productions is out to prove that magic can strike twice via the
very property that completely reinvigorated its languishing animation division; now, Disney sorely needs a
critical Broadway smash.
Although blogosphere chatter (including
here) has already reviewed both shows in advance of the openings, now comes the first test from the mainstream media as they'll now be able to weigh-in with their first official reviews.
Any bets on what we'll hear?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Denver).Click here for The Little Mermaid tickets (Broadway).Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Broadway).
Related Stories:Riedel's Deep Abby Normal?(August 17, 2007)
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) (August 13, 2007)
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Little Mermaid Begins Tonight (July 26, 2007)
Little Mermaid: No Treading Water Before The Boards (July 21, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
Mermaid Casting Anything But Little (March 20, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
Beauty Out On Broadway (January 17, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Disney Moves from Continent to Continent (May 22, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Disney, Film, Mel Brooks, Musical, Opening Night, The Little Mermaid, Tryout, Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein (The SOB Preview) - The Paramount, Seattle, WA
***1/2 (out of ****)Is
Young Frankenstein any good? That would be "The $450 Question."
Or perhaps more incisively, is it worth $450 per ticket? That, my friends depends entirely upon your point of view.
Personally, I could never bring myself to spend that kind of money on a theatre ticket as
I think I've already made abundantly clear. But if all things are truly relative, I can tell you that I enjoyed this nearly Broadway-ready
Young Frankenstein much,
much more than
Jersey Boys, where the top seats fetch a farfetched $351.50.
Over this past weekend, I flew to Seattle to take in the out-of-town tryout of
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein,
and I can tell you it has monster hit written all over it. Yes, plenty of tinkering remains to be completed (can somebody
please give a hand to sound designer
Jonathan Deans -- the entire first couple tunes were so muffled that I could barely understand what was being sung), and yes, it currently runs about a half hour
too long (vooof!), but overall, Brooks' latest film-cum-stage musical is funny, funny, funny.
And in answer to the original question, yes, it's pretty darned good, too.
Given that I saw the show only days into its first previews, what's remarkable is the nearly excellent shape in which
Young Frankenstein already is for a show that will be further fine-tuned in the weeks ahead.
Credit Brooks and
Thomas Meehan for embracing all of the signature lines and hysterical bits from the
film and running with them. They're not only all here, but the rapt audience clearly anticipates each one, cheering enthusiastically as each is delivered with relish (now I
finally know how all those Monty Python fans felt during
Spamalot).
Yet, Brooks and Meehan expand on the story by offering up a more fully-realized Elizabeth thanks to a wickedly funny
Megan Mullally, and Igor via an absolutely hilarious
Christopher Fitzgerald --
Wicked's original Boq -- in an uproarious breakthrough performance that makes you all but forget
Marty Feldman.
Fortunately, they're not alone. For my first-time
ever,
I finally saw Sutton Foster perform and got to see what the fuss is about; not only can she sing and dance with the best of them, she's a voluptuous laugh riot to boot as Inga. Her "Roll In The Hay" had me rolling in the aisle. As much as I hoped to see
Cloris Leachman recreate the role of Frau Blucher, there's no better substitute than the pricelessly droll
Andrea Martin, who delights with nodding approval from neighing horses; her "He Vas My Boyfriend" underscores her comedic versatility. And while a monster of few words,
Shuler Hensley makes for about the most lovable bogeyman ever -- just ask Mullally, who sings down the house with her risible "Deep Love."
The toughest role certainly falls on former second-stringer and Tony-winner
Roger Bart, who finally graduates to a leading role with plenty of comic pizzazz. While it takes a while for his Dr. Frederick Frankenstein to rise to the heights of
Gene Wilder from the silver screen version, his winning madness and heart ultimately win the audience over.
Despite sprinklings of vampires and werewolves, surprisingly few of the tunes by Mel Brooks capture the lunacy of
The Producers, but as noted above, this
is still a work in progress. Although I still recall the strains of the aforementioned "Deep Love," along with "Together Again For The First Time" when Frederick and Igor forge their bond, if I were to guess which tunes would go away to speed along the narrative, I'd suggest the throwaway "Welcome To Transylvania" or the needless "Please Send Me Someone" by the one-scene Hermit.
Perhaps it's for these reasons that the
real showstopping tune turns out not to be a newly written Brooks piece, but instead,
Irving Berlin's borrowed "Puttin' On The Ritz." Like a
Busby Berkeley extravaganza, this signature tune catapults
Young Frankenstein to the highest heights of hilarity.
Thanks to the unique vision of director/choreographer
Susan Stroman, these Transylvanian hills come alive, not only with the sound of music, but also with enchanting stagecraft.
Robin Wagner has outdone himself with Frankenstein's laboratory alone, but when you add everything from a ocean-going ship to Frankenstein Castle's grand hall, add a dose of
Marc Brickman's enchanting projection designs and throw in
Peter Kaczorowski's brilliant lighting design, suddenly there's more magic than you can shake a beaker at. Then, of course, there's
William Ivey Long's wide-ranging costume design that bridges New York chic with Transylvania geek.
I fully trust that the final product that bows on Broadway will be precision perfect, but this is as abby-normally terrific as you can get this early.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Broadway).Related Stories:Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75% (August 10, 2007)
Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
That's FrankenSTEEN: Just In Time For Halloween (January 24, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Andrea Martin, Broadway, Film, Megan Mullally, Mel Brooks, Musical, Roger Bart, Seattle, Shuler Hensley, Sutton Foster, The SOB Preview, The SOB Review, Young Frankenstein
Will These Eyes Meet? Hoping For Better Than 75%Apparently, according to both
Playbill and
Michael Riedel,
Mel Brooks and
Thomas Meehan are sitting through every one of the Seattle tryout performances of
Young Frankenstein to finish prepping it for Broadway.
Also, according to Riedel, Brooks thinks the show is "75% there."
Additionally, according to me, I'll be 100% in the audience this weekend.
Wonder whether these eyes will come this close.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Broadway).Related Stories:Is Mel Worth It? (August 4, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Film, Mel Brooks, Michael Riedel, Musical, Seattle, Thomas Meehan, Tryout, Young Frankenstein
Is Mel Worth It?Regular readers already know
how I feel about the outrageously priced top tickets for the upcoming Broadway adaptation of
Mel Brooks'
Young Frankenstein.
But given
Michael Riedel's latest New York Post column, it's no wonder why they're so high when the great comedy maestro is set to earn big bucks with or without the yucks.
Is Brooks' genius worth it? I'll be curious to know what you think.
I'll give you my humble opinion soon enough as I get set to journey to Seattle for the out-of-town tryout shortly.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Seattle).Click here for Young Frankenstein tickets (Broadway).Related Stories:Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Cloris To Mel: Put Up Your Dukes! (June 13, 2007)
Pirate Queen Set To Abdicate Hilton Throne (June 6, 2007)
Billion Dollar Broadway Baby? Almost. (May 30, 2007)
Mel Brooks: "It Looks Like The Hilton Theatre" (May 25, 2007)
End Of Plank For Pirate Queen? (May 18, 2007)
It's Official: Mullally Cast In Young Frankenstein (March 9, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Whither Goeth Chenoweth? (February 27, 2007)
Producers Out, Young Frankenstein In (February 22, 2007)
M-G-M: Movies-Going-Musical (January 3, 2007)
Young Frankenstein Workshop To Feature Monster Casting (October 11, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Film, Mel Brooks, Michael Riedel, Musical, Seattle, Young Frankenstein
Thanks, Mel!Need another reason to be
outraged about the $450 top ticket price for the upcoming
Young Frankenstein Broadway show? According to
New York Post's Michael Riedel, it is serving as further ammunition for a potential fall strike among stagehands.
Riedel quotes one stagehand, who argues, "All this price-gouging is going on, the producers have never been richer and yet they want us to take cuts....We should suffer so they can get richer?"
Riedel goes on to provide counterpoint (only one in five shows eke out a profit) after counterpoint (producers are bad managers) after counterpoint (theatre would cost less if producers didn't have to pay stagehands so much [really???]) after counterpoint (one in five actually isn't bad compared to other businesses).
Let's just hope that the union, which is currently working without a contract, negotiates a settlement before the Great White Way is forced to go dark.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
What Motivates You To See A Broadway Show? (July 5, 2007)
That's Franken$$$$$TEIN! (June 29, 2007)
Labels: Broadway, Mel Brooks, Stagehands, Strike, Ticket Prices, Young Frankenstein
