Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Book by Mel Brooks &
Thomas Meehan
Direction & Choreography
by Susan Stroman
(All 3 previously worked
together on The Producers)
Puttin' on the Ritz with Roger Bart. Channeling Savion Glover!
Photo : Ari Mintz for Newsday
Based on the smash hit 1974
filmYoung Frankenstein is the
wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Mary Shelley classic from the
comic genius of Mel Brooks. When Frederick Frankenstein, an
esteemed New York brain surgeon and professor, inherits a castle and
laboratory in Transylvania from his grandfather (deranged genius Victor
Von Frankenstein) he faces a dilemma. Does he continue to run from his
family’s tortured past or does he stay in Transylvania to carry on his
grandfather’s mad experiments reanimating the dead and, in the
process, fall in love with his sexy lab assistant Inga? PRESS NOTES
The film starred Gene Wilder as a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein who
goes to Eastern Europe and takes up his ancestor's hobbies, and Peter
Boyle as the monster he creates. It was one of Brooks' most successful
comedies and, to many film critics, his most consistent and polished
work. The movie, a parody of the classic horror films of the 1930s, was
made in black and white and featured a famously hilarious scene in which
the Frankenstein monster is presented to the public in top hat and
tails, performing Irving Berlin's Puttin' on the Ritz. Just as
the stage version of The Producers kept the song Springtime
for Hitler from the original film, this number will be retained in
the legitimate adaptation (the Berlin estate OK'ed it). Playbill
Enjoying the YF Broadway Opening Night Party Credit : Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
Music for Young Frankenstein
with
tunes such as The Transylvania Mania and He Vas My Boyfriend
as well as the Monster's soft-shoe version of Irving Berlin's Puttin'
on the Ritz - has a 1930s sound in keeping with the era in which the
story takes place. (Producer Robert Sillerman in Variety)
Shuler plays the Monster, the role
created in the original movie by the late Peter Boyle. Joining him
in the cast are Broadway stars Roger Bart (The Producers, The Frogs), Sutton
Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Drowsy Chaperone),
Christopher Fitzgerald (Wicked, Amour), Fred Applegate (The
Producers), Megan Mullally from TV's Will and Grace, and
Andrea Martin who starred alongside Shuler as Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!
on Broadway.
Played in the movie by
Shuler Hensley
The Monster
Peter Boyle
Megan Mullally
Elizabeth
Madeline Kahn
replaced by Michele
Ragusa 2008
Roger Bart
Doctor Frederick
Frankenstein
Gene Wilder
Sutton Foster
Inga
Teri Garr
replaced by Kelly
Sullivan 2008
Andrea Martin
Frau Blücher
Cloris Leachman
replaced by Beth
Leavel 2008
Christopher Fitzgerald
Igor
Marty Feldman
replaced by Corey
English 2008
Fred Applegate
Inspector Kemp
Kenneth Mars
Ensemble
: Heather Ayers, Jim Borstelmann, Paul Castree, Jen Lee
Crowl, Jack Doyle, James Gray, Amy Heggins, Eric Jackson,
Kristin Marie Johnson, Renee Feder, Matthew LaBanca, Kevin Ligon,
Barrett Martin, Linda Mugleston, ChrisTina Marie Norrup, Justin
Patterson, Brian Shepard, Sarrah Strimel, Craig Waletzko,
Courtney Young
Mel Brooks &
Robert Sillerman
Producers
Patrick Brady
Musical Direction
Glen Kelly
Musical Supervision
Doug Besterman
Orchestrations
Robin Wagner
Set Design
William Ivey Long
Costume Design
Peter Kaczorowski
Lighting Design
Jonathan Deans
Sound Design
Articles
& Interviews from Broadway:
24
October Angelina
Avallone talks about her makeup for the Monster. "The
trick is to find with a look that allows Shuler Hensley's
expressions to come through. There's humor in the character but
also humanity - ultimately there's something very appealing
about this monster! ..... Playing a character like this is a big
commitment on the actor's part - the makeup has to be touched up
at intermission, and it takes a half hour after the show to
remove all the layers and glue from his face and hands."
27
October A
Really Big Shoe. The New York Times enjoys a night out with
Shuler in downtown Manhattan.
7
November Young
Frankenstein cast is puttin' on the shtick. Interviews, plus
great video
and photos
from Newsday. Cue
& A. Shuler fills out Playbill's questionnaire! NJ
Star-Ledger interviews Shuler and co-star Roger Bart. "It's been a real good click between us" says
Shuler.
8
November Easy
Being Green. TDF. "I'm a real hoofer in this show -
I'm channeling Savion Glover during Puttin' on the Ritz"
says Shuler, the genetically blessed son of a football player
and a ballet dancer.
20
November Golem-a-Go-Go.
Jewish Exponent says "Shuler Hensley is a great mash of a
Monster in a spry Young Frankenstein."
Making up for the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade Credit : Sutton Foster for Broadway.com
Opening Night bows Credit : Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com
Articles
& Interviews from Seattle:
8 June
Monster
of a Reading - "Or, as the Monster would say,
Soooper doooper! That's what I'm hearing about the reading of Young
Frankenstein, the new musical from Mel Brooks and his longtime writing
partner, Tom Meehan." Report of the September 2006 trial
reading of the show, from the New York Post's Michael Riedel.
1 August
Shuler's THIRD Brief
Encounter with Playbill.com! "If you're a Broadway director
looking to cast a non-human role, Tony-winner Shuler Hensley is your
go-to guy.....And besides, his kids like it better when he's cast as a
non-human!"
4 August
Puttin' on the Glitz. Shuler and fellow Tony Award winner Sutton Foster
talk to Playbill about bringing YF to life as a musical.
10 August
Frankly, A Big Relief. "Everybody's raving about Megan
Mullally, as Frankenstein's fiancée Elizabeth, and Shuler Hensley, who
plays The Monster. Hensley's wearing several pounds of rubber (it takes
him almost two hours to get into his costume), but his wit and humanity
come through." More from Michael Riedel in the New York Post.
26 August
Transylvania Mania Hits Seattle. "Shuler Hensley, a menacing
Monster and light-footed hoofer, and Christopher Fitzgerald's zany Igor,
were opening-night favorites." Bloomberg.com
Now playing : Puttin' on the Ritz
