Young Frankenstein (2007)
Original Broadway Cast Recording
Music & Lyrics: Mel Brooks
Synopsis: The musical is based on the 1974 film with the same name which parodies Mary Shelley's classic book Frankenstein. The story is set in Transylvania in the 1930's where Dr Victor Frankenstein has just died. To the disappointment of the villagers, Dr Frankenstein's grandson Frederick travels from New York for his grandfather's estate. Frederick is then encouraged to take over the family business and to build a monster of his own.
Music
The soundtrack reminded me a little of The Rocky Horror Show, especially songs such as Please Don't Touch Me but mixed in with something from The Producers in terms of its comic value. There are some brilliant exaggerated foreign accents going on but in general I found the recording a little bit samey all the way through. I could not pick out a song that I enjoyed more than the others. The Brain is quite an impressive one requiring excellent diction but I don't know whether I could describe that as my very favourite. The music is of the flashy Broadway style - you can imagine many of the songs being combined with big dance numbers. From the lyrics and the exaggerated expression of many songs, it is obvious the musical is a parody. One of the characters (Inga) even starts yodeling in the song Roll in the Hay.
Productions
I was astonished a musical as recent as this had gone completely unnoticed by me seeing as it involves Mel Brooks (I love The Producers), Sutton Foster who I think is a brilliant performer and Christopher Fitzgerald, a name I have been coming across frequently lately. then again, Young Frankenstein is not widely spread outside of the USA. The original Broadway production received mixed reviews even though the audience response was largely positive.
Synopsis: The musical is based on the 1974 film with the same name which parodies Mary Shelley's classic book Frankenstein. The story is set in Transylvania in the 1930's where Dr Victor Frankenstein has just died. To the disappointment of the villagers, Dr Frankenstein's grandson Frederick travels from New York for his grandfather's estate. Frederick is then encouraged to take over the family business and to build a monster of his own.
Music
The soundtrack reminded me a little of The Rocky Horror Show, especially songs such as Please Don't Touch Me but mixed in with something from The Producers in terms of its comic value. There are some brilliant exaggerated foreign accents going on but in general I found the recording a little bit samey all the way through. I could not pick out a song that I enjoyed more than the others. The Brain is quite an impressive one requiring excellent diction but I don't know whether I could describe that as my very favourite. The music is of the flashy Broadway style - you can imagine many of the songs being combined with big dance numbers. From the lyrics and the exaggerated expression of many songs, it is obvious the musical is a parody. One of the characters (Inga) even starts yodeling in the song Roll in the Hay.
Productions
I was astonished a musical as recent as this had gone completely unnoticed by me seeing as it involves Mel Brooks (I love The Producers), Sutton Foster who I think is a brilliant performer and Christopher Fitzgerald, a name I have been coming across frequently lately. then again, Young Frankenstein is not widely spread outside of the USA. The original Broadway production received mixed reviews even though the audience response was largely positive.
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