When Broadway first saw a fully staged musical comedy version of one of Mel
Brooks' outrageously corny movies, there was euphoric excitement. People
said "we've never
seen anything like it on a Broadway stage before." Well, actually, everyone
had seen almost all of the elements before. It is just that they all had
never been assembled with the unique Brooks touch. The result? Higher ticket
prices and more Tony Awards than any other show had ever enjoyed. That was
2001 and the musical was The Producers. Naturally, a second Mel
Brooks musical was called for by fans and investors alike. Now it is here.
While The Producers was an incomparable hit because there was nothing
to compare it to, Young Frankenstein can be compared - it can be
compared to The Producers. On the evidence presented in this, its
Original Cast Album, which is being released on the day following Christmas,
it suffers by comparison. However, it also offers proof that some of the
strengths of The Producers were the result of pure talent on the part
of Mr. Brooks and some of the creators who have teamed with him again. There
are two "bonus tracks" even if only one is labeled as such. An overture has
been written for the recording and a song titled "Alone" is included even
though it was cut from the show after the out of town tryout.
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Storyline: The musical version of the 1974 movie comedy spoofing the
monster movies of the 1930s. In it the grandson of the famous Dr.
Frankenstein decides to "Join The Family Business" and bring the gigantic
corpse of a recently executed criminal back to life with unexpected results.
Brooks teams again with Thomas Meehan to convert
screenplay into Broadway-style musical comedy. They rely again on Susan
Stroman to direct and choreograph and on the musical team that made Brooks'
first score sound so solid. Once again, Doug Besterman has orchestrated the
arrangements of Glen Kelley while the vocal arrangements are by Patrick S.
Brady, who also conducts the orchestra as Musical Director. A very large
orchestra gives a full sound. In the theater there are 24 players. The
recording augments that with another dozen strings. From a technical
standpoint, the work is entirely first rate and even exciting at times.
Brooks' melodies are solid and functional and Young
Frankenstein reaffirms, if reaffirmation was needed, that he's a clever
mimic of the styles of others while bringing his own style to the work. In
The Producers there were many moments that seemed attempts to
out-Gershwin Gershwin, which was completely justified by the story. Here
Brooks attempts to out-Berlin Berlin and out-Porter Porter along with some
clear Sigmund Romberg-ing and Vincent Youmans-ing for the operetta fans in
the house as well. It is in the area of lyrics that the recording best
documents Brooks' unique talent. There are so many apparently predictable
rhymes that it seems nearly effortlessly clever. However, who knew there
were that many "predictable" rhymes? Brooks reaches with ease to stretch
rhyming to its limits. When not rhyming, Brooks is punning or, as Will Friedwald points out in his cleverly
formatted notes in the booklet, stringing together not double-entendres but
single-entendres. (Has any Broadway lyricist ever focused so single mindedly
on anatomical humor?)
Just as in the movie, however, the big number in Young
Frankenstein is an actual Irving Berlin number - "Puttin' On The
Ritz" - rather than an original confection. In this
Broadway version it remains a one-joke bit with the lumbering giant of a
monster aping the stylish aplomb of Fred Astaire's original work.
"Springtime for Hitler" may have been a superb one-gag bit for the movie
version of The Producers but its Broadway incarnation was a superb
string of escalating hilarity. The difference between the two numbers is
indicative of the difference between the two show scores. The Producers
ranged over a wider set of topics and managed more emotional depth. Young
Frankenstein, on the other hand, is a bit cruder, more reliant on humor
based on body parts, and less touching. But it sure is a lot of fun!
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