Fall New York Theatre Tour II

We were lucky enough to get tickets for the first New York performance of Young Frankenstein - The Musical, and we saw a terrific production.

First, the tech was impeccable. There were tremendous amounts of fog, lightning, sparks and my favorite, a lighting effect that seemed to make the inside of the castle "tremble." To have technical production so tight at the first public performance is quite a feat.

Roger Bart was hilarious as Frankenstein, and seemed more grounded than Nathan Lane was doing a similar role in "The Producers." He actually seemed aware that there was a play that needed to move forward.

Megan Mullally as Elizabeth, Frankenstein's fiance, was so full of musical theatre excitement, that I felt cheated not seeing her onstage the whole time. She actually seemed under-used, appearing, essentially, at the beginning and end only.

Sutton Foster was miscast, as far as I can tell. She has been a shining light in productions like Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Little Women, but in those plays her characters were cute, innocent, tomboy types. In Young Frankenstein, she's expected to be the sexpot seducer, initiating lots of double-entendre jokes. Maybe people who haven't seen her in the other productions won't have the same reaction, because she is a wonderful actress and singer - that may be all that's needed.

Christopher Fitzgerald as Igor, Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher, Shuler Hensley as the Monster are all perfection. The highlight of the evening is the extended version of "Puttin' on the Ritz." God, it's funny.

I hope everyone gets a chance to see Young Frankenstein. We're trying to put our spring trip together for late April/early May, and tickets are almost impossible to get, even that far in advance.

Next: Impressions of other Broadway shows, including Spring Awakening, Mauritius, and Xanadu.