A monstrously hilarious musical…
The grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced “Fronk-en-steen”) inherits his family’s estate in Transylvania. With the help of his sidekick, Igor (pronounced “Eye-gore”), and sultry lab assistant, Inga, Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds. Young Frankenstein has all of the panache of the classic film from Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks with a dose of theatrical flair, so you’ll be “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and having a monstrously good time!​
Musical Comedy, Farce | Recommended for ages 13 and up

Director’s Note

Young Frankenstein is a 2007 musical, based on a beloved 1974 comic film, which itself is a parody of a series of 1930s horror films, themselves based on an 1818 novel. It has layers of references, homages, and parody: first and foremost to the beloved film and its indelible comic performances (Mel Brooks, who cowrote the film with Gene Wilder, also wrote the musical’s book) but also to big American musicals, to vaudeville, to the golden age of Hollywood, and to Gothic storytelling. The musical has in its marrow all that made Brooks’s sense of humor so singular—those vaudevillian tropes, physical comedy, parody of genre, pushing of boundaries, and bawdy sexual humor.

The fun of the musical is that it is fun, leaning into what is big and splashy about musicals, while also generously hat-tipping the film and its indelible performances by Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, and Cloris Leachman. It has a layer for those of you who love musicals; one for those who love the film; another for those who love vaudeville and physical comedy; and if you love all of the above—walk this way. Plus, it is not without a few perennial lessons: the peril in othering, the joy of finding your proper mate, the danger of a mob, and the futility in trying to outrun your family legacy. But mostly, it is fun.

I’ve been lucky enough to direct three shows at CRT that center women—2018’s 9 to 5, 2019’s Pride and Prejudice, and 2022’s Steel Magnolias. Kate Berry encouraged me to explore how Young Frankenstein does the same. The movie features three of the greatest comic actresses of all time (Kahn, Garr, and Leachman), and the musical also allows the women the lion’s share of comic opportunity. Letting women be as funny and raunchy as the men: its own kind of equality, indeed.