[NEohioPAL] Review of "Young Frankenstein" at Beck Center for the Arts

Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org
Fri Jul 11 18:33:29 PDT 2014


Borsht-belt humor is alive in Beck's 'Young Frankenstein'

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the Cleveland Jewish News on 7/18/14

 

 

In the classic 1931 film "Frankenstein," Dr. Frankenstein creates life from an inanimate mass of human pieces and parts and, afterwards, screams "it's alive" in hysterical celebration of his achievement.  

 

In the Beck Center for the Arts' production of "Young Frankenstein" - the staged, music-infused replication of Mel Brooks' hilarious 1974 film of the same name -- what's alive is the blatant, borsht-belt humor found in the film that was sorely missing from the over-produced national tour that came through PlayhouseSquare several years ago.  

 

As he has shown in recent Beck Center productions of "The Producers" (another Mel Brooks screen-to-stage musical) and Monty Python's "Spamalot," director Scott Spence knows his way around old-school, groan-worthy running gags.  And audaciously sophomoric sexual references.  And the shameless absence of subtlety when setting up a good punch line and, especially,  when setting up a punch line that is not so good.  

 

He has masterfully navigated this familiar territory once again in "Young Frankenstein," and the result is an exhilarating, thoroughly enjoyable madcap musical that parodies the horror films of the 1930s and 1940s.  

 

For more of this review, go to:  http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/article_6be3f0f0-0958-11e4-9a1f-001a4bcf887a.html
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