Young Frankenstein

Many thanks to Douglas Choral Union for inviting me to see their Production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein at the Gaiety Theatre on Saturday 11th February 2023. This production was a musical adaptation of the 1973 Cult comedy film of the same name. The narrative is set in the 1930s and is a send up of a replica story of the classic Mary Shelley’s tale and in true Mel Brookes style, is utterly bonkers and fun hearted, whilst projecting serious themes and undertones within the messaging.

The piece was directed and choreographed by Scott St Martyn, who did a fantastic job at not only constructing the narrative to the stage in a lively, energetic, and vibrant way, but also crafted together performance and technical disciplines seamlessly to produce a fully cohesive and rounded stylised piece of theatrical entertainment from start to finish. There was wonderful used of pace and dynamics throughout which ensured the audience were fully engaged at each spectacular moment was produced. The acting style throughout was brilliant, it almost looked as though most characters were created naturalistically to which the actors’ portrayed caricatures of. This enabled the show to quite comfortably be taken to comedic heights which could have been taken as offensive if the character detail had not have engaged in a cathartic relationship with the audience. The choreography throughout was detailed and technically complex, with great use and manipulation of space to transform the stage in these moments. Most notably for me, Puttin’ on The Ritz’s full ensemble full out tap number and the thematic Vaudeville/Charleston style take on Transylvania Mania were choreographic highlights for me.

Liz Dixon did a wonderful job as Musical Directors constructing this complex score with perfect blend and balance with vocals and with the 11-person orchestra. There were some moments of brilliance within the musical work, most notably how tight the barber shop quartet moment was, and the wonderful unity of the chorus and the wall of sound which omitted from them.

Set and props were of the highest standard throughout. There were enormous trucks which miraculously and seamlessly appeared upon the stage which not only depicted the scene locations to the fullest extent but also added to the cartoon-like/ caricatured feel of the overall. The technical elements of the production tied the whole piece together. Across the height and breadth of the backdrop was a projection screen which animated the entire stage. This ranged from adding detail to the setting, like the forest moving and the wagon was being pulled by the horses and the moon flickering over the water. The lighting was also apart of the set, for example, the laboratory had low hanging (and functioning) light featured, which again, one did not notice fly in or out, they magically appeared and added such detail to the entire piece. Costumes, hair and make up finished off the design and again, were of the highest of standards. Although it is easy to over see this, so much hard work and dedication would have gone into ensuring that each cast members, some with multiple changes throughout, looked just right upon that stage. What I loved most about all the design elements was that they blended into each other. For example, the purple of Frau Blucher’s costume was almost a perfect match to the purple hue of the beam which lit across the stage during scenes inside the Doctor’s estate. Tiny minutia like this tied all the artistic elements together so well that they should not go unnoticed.      

Now to the cast, I feel like I must open this with a brave statement. The cast’s range in talent and technique were from excellent to outstanding and nothing below. The cast included members of the society from a variety of aged groups and were carefully selected to maximise use of abilities throughout the show. The chorus, some 35 strong, moved as a solid unit within the production, adding drama, insight, and artistic flair throughout.

Tony Eccles played the lead role, Dr Frederick Frankenstein with finesse. He portrayed the character with excess of charisma in a detailed manner, that hit the expectation of portraying a mad scientist, but also an entirely relatable character which took the audience with him on the character journey. His singing and dance ability was as robust as his acting work, I was outstanded by his tap technique. I adored the many repeated idiosyncrasies he brought to the character, such a repetition of a kind of par de bra through 4th with clenched fists, which somehow reground some of the absurdity which was occurring onstage! This performance truly was phenomenal from top to tail.

Leah Carter was cast as Inga and was outstanding in this role. She played this character with passion, energy, and charm, which enabled the production to get away with pushing the innuendos to their boundaries, without objectifying the character. The role showcased her triple threat talent superbly. The highlight of her performance for me was Roll in the Hay, which she managed to show fully sustained vocal control through switching from song to full out yodel without break or flinch, while undertaking some very bouncy choreography.

David Lyons played Igor and gave an immense physical performance in this role.  Playing a hunchback (with a moving hunch) he exaggerated this physicality by undertaking choreography with bent knee, adding to the kooky feel to the character. Adding to this, he used exaggerated facial expressions and flared with his vocal work to embellish this character.

Frau Blucher was played by Lisa Kreisky. Lisa really shone in this role and was hilariously funny throughout with immense comedic timing. It was ingenious for he to break the fourth wall throughout the production, as though addressing the audience directly, whom she had with her at all moments. This added an additional element of quirkiness to the character, which made every moment she was in hysterical. Her delivery of He was my Boyfriend was first class and delivered faultless vocals, very articulate even with a thick eastern European accent.

Sue Tummon also shone in throughout the production as Elzabeth Benning. She portrayed this character in many dimensions, from generic broad, full-on sass and glam to romantically indulgent. This was a super funny performance throughout and the role showed off her vocal range and abilities, from grit to belt to delivering blistering top soprano notes with ease.

Finishing the principles we had Geoff Pugh as Monster, Mark Dougherty as Inspector Kemp, and Mike Bonner as Hermit. All of whom delivered strong characterisations and performances.

This truly was a wonderful production from Douglas Choral Union in all aspects of the word. Thank you once again for inviting me along to see the show and I look forward to Evita next year.

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