Ok so everyone I’ve told I’ve seen this has thought I meant that I saw Young Frankenstein. Yes, it’s kind of strange that both “Frankenstein the Musical” and Mel Brook’s “Young Frankenstein the Musical” would be both opening around the same time - but with Halloween coming up, it makes sense. Also they are totally different.

Anyway, I’m so mad at Young Frankenstein for being so damn expensive. I think no one should go. Theatre goers, revolt against high ticket prices! Please!

Anyway, the show I saw was a faithful retelling of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. A dramatic musical, almost operatic in nature. The main reason I went was to see Hunter Foster, who I love lots. I was curious to see him in such a dramatic role.

I’m very conflicted about this production. I have a lot of great things to say about it and a lot of not so great things. Let’s start with the good.

The good.
1) The music. A lot of the music was really really beautiful. Sweeping melodies, and huge arias for the leads. Marc Baron wrote the music, and I was unfamiliar with his work.
2) Hunter Foster. I’ve seen him numerous times, and never before have I heard him sound so good vocally. He nailed it.
3) The acting in general was great.
4) The costumes were amazing. Modern, militaristic, almost Asian inspired - each one slightly different - a brilliant design by Emily Pepper.
5) The use of the ensemble as chorus and small roles - they had a ton to do in the show and all were great.
6) The depiction of the monster as more human than monster was great. No green skin and bolts here - just a good actor doing some interesting physical work to depict his monster status. Very effective.

The bad.
1) The music. Some of it was so over-the-top and overly dramatic, and some of it was plain boring. Just very inconsistent. The first half hour had no good music in it, and I was convinced the whole show was going to sound like Frank Wildhorn. Then suddenly it changed - and got really interesting. Basically I didn’t like the ballads, but the moments of heightened drama and darkness were musically excellent.
2) Christiane Noll’s character. She is a brilliant singer, and sounded great throughout - unfortunately she is cursed with most of the Wildhorn-esque ballads. No fault of Ms. Noll’s, but a poorly written, uninteresting ingenue.
3) Our seats. Sitting front row center, I had to look up at the show with my neck strained. I imagine it felt that way for at least the first five rows. So I guess that is a design flaw. Anything that happened upstage - couldn’t see it. All the beautiful lighting effects were lost on anyone in the front. Would definitely have preferred to be sitting in the mezzanine. I really couldn’t even see the set that well, if there was one - so I can’t comment on that. I just saw lots and lots of lights.
4) Hunter Foster. I love him. But I love him more when he’s doing comedy. I didn’t feel he quite reached the emotional depths necessary for the character. After all, it is the story of his ultimate destruction. Maybe cuz he’s got such a cute little baby face….hard for him to depict true suffering with those dimples.
5) The explanation of the science behind the resurrections. I thought Dr. Frankenstein cut up pieces of dead bodies and sewed them up back together or something? Here, he just dug up dead people, left them in tact, and some lighting effects later (lightning? Dunno, couldn’t see!) they’re back to life again. Sort of messy plot explanation.

All in all it is worth seeing, has some glorious moments, but is not glorious throughout. I think it could be a classic piece of theatre with some tweaking. It feels unfinished to me.

Yay for New World Stages producing some awesome shows! Last visit(s) here were for Evil Dead the Musical, huzzah for that. Went back on Oct. 12th which was the 3rd preview of Charles Busch’s epic melodrama, Die Mommy Die. I saw the film recently and loved it. But of course everything is better live on stage.

Busch wrote and stars in this hilarious mockery of an old Hollywood story. He plays Angela Arden, a washed up singer with a troubled home life. After murdering her evil husband with a poisoned suppository, chaos and double crossing ensues. The plot and setting are ridiculous, yet really reflect the time of the film diva (ala Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, etc). He uses this device to celebrate this era and these women, and make brilliant comedy out of it, rather than mockery.

Almost every single line is funny. The cast is solid throughout. But really, you can’t take your eyes off Busch, the first lady of the American Stage. That’s my new name for him. He is so convincing, not only as this particular character, but as a real woman. I am completely sure that there were many audience members not aware of the fact that he was a man in drag. He is all woman, all grace, all charm, all incredible. I love the funny vocal mannerisms he developed for the character, making the jokes even funnier. Whenever the character has something particularly witty to say, he puts on this funny speech affectation that never stops being funny. Really great.

Nothing bad to say about this show. Laughed my butt off. Special mention of Ashley Morris as the daughter - a newcomer to the New York stage, she completely nailed this character. Was totally effectively obnoxious throughout.

The plot is really ridiculous and completely un-believable. But I think you figure out that that’s going to be the case from the get-go, and when the chaos unravels, rather than judge it for it’s nonsensical nature, you just laugh and laugh. Oh happy times.

This show, created by the National Theatre of Scotland, premiered in London last year. I saw it then and really liked it. I heard it was coming to Broadway for a limited 2 week run at the New Victory on 42nd st, and bought tickets right away.

The production is largely the same, but with a mostly different cast. The lead was a better singer this time around, but her vocal maturity (which served the score well) sacrificed the childlike naivite that is pivotal to the role. I remember complaining that the previous actress was adorable and childlike but wasn’t a great singer - so I guess it’s tough to have it both ways.

Was again wowed by the stunning video projection art that accompanies the regular set.

I really love a show that’s for kids - but kind of dark and abstract - but also very cute and optimistic. I’m told these are attributes of Neil Gaiman’s work, the author of the original story.

I also really enjoy a score that is complex enough that even after a second viewing, there aren’t too many catchy bits in the music. Sounds more like new music/experimental operatic composition than music for a kids’ show. How very British. You know if this had been created in America the music would have been dumbed down for it’s potentially largely young audience.

Great to see it again. Totally awesome cute little show. A kids show for grownups. Great puppets. The Scottish accents were a problem though, even for me - so I’m sure the little kids in the crowd had no idea what anyone was saying or singing. But that’s ok because it looks and sounds so pretty.

The best scene is the dream sequence in which the pig puppet (cute stuffed animal) is slow motion running from the wolves. And suddenly obtains the ability to fly. Adorable and hilarious.

Wow. Had to see it, as I love cats. And discount tickets through TDF sweetened the deal. But wow. Cats are not the most impressive animal when it comes to what you can actually train them to do.

Some of the tricks were pretty good, but really - it’s hard to get a cat to do much. I liked the cat that was put on a platform, which was raised high into the air - and it just sat there, 20 feet above the stage, totally calm. Then it did a big jump into the trainer’s arms, that was impressive.

Mostly the tricks were funny and involved the use of their human/clown co-stars. There was a lot of cat trickery (cat steals food, cat keeps turning light switch on and off), as well as cat acrobatics (catrobatics?). Tricks like walking backward on a tightrope, or crossing a tightrope using only it’s front paws - really some cute awesome stuff.

The cat stuff is supplemented by your basic clown work - juggling, balloon animals, pranking the audience, etc. There was a section that was just clowning - and while it was solid clown work, it was nothing I hadn’t seen a million times before, and in more inventive ways, so all I could think was, get rid of the humans. More kitties.

Also there was one dog. A really pretty chow. That didn’t actually do much except dance in a circle.

So the secret to getting a cat do to what you want - immediately feed it a treat as soon as it accomplishes it’s task. Those cats ate so many treats over the course of the show - it’s clear what their motivation is. Not to entertain the masses. To be fed.

The experience was somewhat marred by the loud and seemingly mentally handicapped middle-aged guy sitting behind us. Probably not actually handicapped, most likely just an ass - he was using the F- word a lot, and loudly, in an audience full of kids before the show - then every single trick during the show he would yell YAAAAAYYYY!!!!! So ignoring him and watching the kitties was tough.

The show suffered from lacking a grand finale. I thought for sure there would be a scene that included all the cats - at least have them all run across the stage at once, or one after the other, or have them all appear on stage at once - but that didn’t happen, so I felt a bit unfulfilled. Perhaps that’s just not possible. And it makes sense, as I did notice that it seemed like one cat would do their trick, and leave the stage, and the next one would come on. Maybe they’re incapable of performing en masse.

Oh also I liked the cat that would sit on a remote control toy car and drive around the stage. Just sat there, enjoying the ride. Cute.

Super cute, and super weird experience. And the Tribeca Arts Center is kind of a pain to get to. Unless of course you live in Tribeca. And who does, really.