Young Frankenstein: The New Mel Brooks Musical
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Composer: Mel BrooksComposer: Thomas Meehan
Conductor: Patrick S. Brady
Performer: Roger Bart
Performer: Megan Mullally
Performer: Sutton Foster
Performer: Christopher Fitzgerald
Performer: Andrea Martin
Performer: Shuler Hensley
Performer: Fred Applegate
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Cast Recording, Explicit Lyrics
CD Release Date: 2007-12-26
Music Label: Decca Broadway
Soundtracks:
- Overture
- The Happiest Town
- The Brain
- Please Don't Touch Me
- Together Again
- Roll In The Hay
- Join The Family Business
- He Vas My Boyfriend
- The Law
- Life, Life
- Welcome To Transylvania
- Transylvania Mania
- He's Loose
- Listen to Your Heart
- Surprise
- Please Send Me Someone
- Man About Town
- Puttin' On The Ritz (Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin)
- Deep Love
- Frederick's Soliloquy
- Deep Love (Reprise)
- FinaleUltimo
Music reviews of Young Frankenstein: The New Mel Brooks Musical
Music Review: Fails to Put on the Ritz
Rating: 3 Stars
With the hugely successful adaptation of THE PRODUCERS turned into one of the biggest (and most profitable), most popular, and critically praised Broadway musicals of all time, it was a given that Mel Brooks would attempt to dive back into the well and turn some of his other movies into stage musicals. YOUNG FRANKENTEIN was the movie next chosen for adaptation. Unfortunately, though the show has comical musical numbers that allude and sometimes outright copy from famous composers, musicians, and performers of the past (Irving Berlin, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Danny Kaye, etc.), the show fails to be capture the imagination and wit that made THE PRODUCERS such a huge hit.
THE PRODUCERS was originally a story that Mel Brooks turned into a play which was so long that he made it into a film. The original movie, starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, wasn't exactly a box office smash, but was big enough to usher Brooks onto the Hollywood scene and would lead him to becoming one of the biggest comic powers of the 1970s. Still, until the late 1990s, THE PRODUCERS was an unknown film, except by Brooks' fans and movie buffs. It also had started out as a stage play and already contained two musical numbers. Therefore, that movie was a perfect pick for adapting into a stage musical. On the other hand, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is one of Brooks' best-known movies, has remained hugely popular since its initial release, and is a parody of the classic black and white horror films of the 1930s. The movie also contain one of the best comedy musical song and dance numbers of film ("Putting on the Ritz"), but that's an Irving Berlin song, not a Mel Brooks song.
Despite all of these challenges, I still thought that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN would be great. I was wrong. The musical isn't terrible, but I was terribly disappointed. Instead of being unique and original, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN ends up sounding like a poorly made copy. There really aren't any standout numbers on the soundtrack, but there are a few worth recommending and a few others that are half-way good.
2. "The Happiest Town in Town"--the big opening number. If all of the songs were as well done as this, then the show would have been as big a success as THE PRODUCERS.
3. "The Brain"--another early number. Full of words and witty humor. Once again, if most of the songs from the album were done along this vein, then the show would have been huge.
5. "Together Again"--a duet between Igor and Frederick. I don't think it's been acknowledged, but the song was definitely inspired by the Muppets "Together Again".
9. "Life, Life"--one of the few serious songs on the album. It's one of the best all around musical numbers in the whole album. I know Brooks is a comedy man, but from this song alone I would be interested in seeing him trying something a bit more serious.
11. "Transylvania Mania"--another big dance number that's just all around fun.
15. "Please Send Me Someone"--this song is kind of mixed. There is a beauty to it, that gets interrupted by bits of comedy. Once again, if the show had been serious, this could have been a very powerful ballad. Instead, it's ruined by its own comedy.
18. "Deep Love"--sex can make people want to sing.
I was really looking forward to "Puttin' On the Ritz", but the expansion of the song and dance number from what was done in the movie actually detracts from the scene rather than make it better.
Overall, though YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN isn't a terrible musical, it is a disappointment. There are glimpses of the Mel Brooks genius, but in trying to top the biggest Broadway musical success ever, he has given us a show that starts out strong, but ends up falling on its feet.
Description of Young Frankenstein: The New Mel Brooks Musical
ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN MUSIC AND LYRICS BY MEL BROOKS -- IT'S ALIVE!From the creators of the record-breaking Broadway sensation The Producers comes this monster new musical comedy, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, based on the Oscar-nominated smash-hit 1974 film. A wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend based on Mel Brooks' classic comedy masterpiece, the story follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein (that's Fronkensteen) as he attempts to complete his grandfather's masterwork and bring a corpse to life. Together with his oddly shaped and endearing helper Igor (that's Eye-gor), his curvaceous lab assistant Inga, and in spite of his incredibly self-involved madcap fiance, Elizabeth, Frankenstein succeeds in creating a monster - but not without scary and quite often hilarious complications.
With such memorable tunes as "The Transylvania Mania," "He Vas My Boyfriend" and "Puttin' On The Ritz," The New MEL BROOKS Musical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is scientifically-proven, monstrously good entertainment...and the only place you'll witness a singing and dancing laboratory experiment in the largest tuxedo ever made. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN features music and lyrics by the three-time Tony AwardŽ winner Mel Brooks, book by Brooks and three-time Tony AwardŽ winner Thomas Meehan, and is directed and choreographed by five-time Tony AwardŽ winner Susan Stroman. The show stars Roger Bart ("Desperate Housewives"), Megan Mullally ("Will and Grace"),Tony-Award winner Sutton Foster ("Drowsy Chaperone"), SCTV's Andrea Martin and Christopher Fitzgerald ("Wicked").
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN opens at Broadway's Hilton Theater - Friday, November 9th!
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Unlike The Producers, the musical version of Young Frankenstein was not met with critical adoration when it opened on Broadway in November, 2007. Mel Brooks had followed the same formula, transferring all of his own source movie?s famous lines and plot points to the stage, but oddly, the cast album works better than the stage production, which is indeed often lumbering. Brooks? songs are still fairly derivative but here, undistracted by director Susan Stroman?s flat staging, you can focus more on Doug Besterman?s excellent orchestrations and on the adept cast itself. As Dr. "Fronkensteen," Roger Bart is much less grating than on stage, for instance. As Inga, Sutton Foster exhibits some mad yodeling skills in "Roll in the Hay" and sounds like a classic Broadway babe on "Listen to Your Heart." Megan Mullally (Elizabeth) sells "Please Don?t Touch Me," "Deep Love," and "Alone" (a bonus track cut from the show), while Andrea Martin (Frau Blucher) kills with the Brecht-Weill pastiche "He Vas My Boyfriend." And yes, Irving Berlin?s "Puttin' on the Ritz" is included, complete with monster grunts and a long tap passage in this extended version. The show may not be worth the hype, but the recording is a pleasant surprise. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
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