ST AGNES 'YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN' A MONSTROUS SUCCESS!

Following on from the success of their last production The Addams Family, which picked up a prestigious AIMS Award we were invited along to The Mac Theatre to review St Agnes latest production ‘Young Frankenstein’ 

I was not familiar with the show or story until chance had me get tickets in London in 2017, I recall laughing so much at Leslie Joseph and Diane Pilkington, in fact I enjoyed it so much I returned a few months later to watch again. 

I go into the show with great interest, good knowledge and readiness to be entertained though conscious that many of our readers/audience may be as familiar of the show as I am, here is a little synopsis

The Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced "Fronk-en-steen") inherits his family's estate in Transylvania. With the help of a hunchbacked sidekick, Igor (pronounced "Eye-gore"), and a busty lab assistant, Inga (pronounced normally), Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. "It's alive!" he exclaims as he brings to life a creature to rival his grandfather's. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds.

Young Frankenstein has all of the panache of the screen sensation with a little extra theatrical flair added. With such memorable tunes as "The Transylvania Mania," "He Vas My Boyfriend" and "Puttin' on the Ritz," Young Frankenstein is scientifically proven, monstrously good entertainment.

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Let's dive in 

We arrived around 7pm to the Theatre, it was lovely to see ushers in red/black traditional dress selling programmes and assisting the public, it was a nice wee touch. After a vino and mingle we got our seats with a perfect sight line from row D.

First thoughts, I love the projection, giving the impression of watching a black and white movie. 

The show moves quite quickly, explaining the backstory and plan to bring Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Allen Gordon) from his home and job in New York to Transylvania. It opens with Ziggy and The Villagers declaring their residence of ‘The Happiest Town’ great opening number on opening night. 

From here we segway to Frederick & Medical Students with the tongue twisting number ‘The Brain’ - hats off to Allen Gordon for not missing a word or beat , when you go to watch you will realise this song is so fast, many a pro would struggle though it seemed a breeze for Allen. Allen was perfectly cast, great vocals, super confident on stage and a great story teller, I always feel at ease watching him. Is there any role he can't do!

I loved the synchronization from the students in this number, very effective movement and visually pleasing. 

We are then introduced to Elizabeth Benning, the Dr’s betrothed, this character is like a cross between Bette Boop, Wicked’s Glinda & Jessica Rabbit, Cute, Funny and Seductive, Michelle Hannaway absolutely nailed it - I loved her performance and what vocals I really was in awe. I particularly loved one of her numbers ‘Deep Love’ - so funny 

On arrival to Transilvania we are introduced to Igor - Thomas Martin, Thomas had energy and enthusiasm in abundance, every song and scene was lifted a level with their performance, such a comedic role. The line “Walk this Way” always has me in a wrinkle.

Next we move on to Lorraine Jackson as Inga, over the years I have watched Lorraine in so many different roles, she is such a pro and is always fully committed, last year her take on Mortica Addams was iconic so it was great to see her play this completely different character who is purposefully sexualised, playing on her assets lol, such a fun character to play - bravo.

Frau Blucher welcomes the pre mentioned trio to the castle, played by Emma Nugent, her performance and this character was possibly the star of the show for me, she had such comedic timing in both song & dialogue and even her facial expressions had me corpse. I couldn't have wanted any more. 

Martin McDowell in the role of The Monster was perfect and a great follow up from Uncle Fester last year, his grunts, moans and groans had me in constant amusement , cannot fault his portrayal. 

Completing the main cast were Ditanya McKinty as Inspector Kemp, Gemma Duffy as The Hermit, Andrew Johnston as Dr. Victor von Frankenstein and Chris Mooney as Ziggy the village idiot , all gave great performances 

Chorus/Ensemble/Dancers all did a great job,, i’m certain any opening night jitters will have subsided and lead to an incredible run.

Congratulations to Director Rachel Logan-Fee, MD Andrew Robinson, Choreographer Amy Blackshaw and the rest of the production team.

In terms of set, costuming and lighting all were perfect, some scenes had modest aesthetics though others were all out, overall it was a great balance

The wasn’t allot to critique -  the candle/door scene should have been funny though didn't work, at times the sound effects were too loud masking dialogue, imagine levels will be worked out for the remainder of the run and a few cues were under/overshot, bar this it was great.

Highlights for me, the many Innuendo’s , He Vas My Boyfriend, Deep Love and the Tap Routine 

You can catch the show at The Mac until Saturday, tickets available via themaclive.com/event/young-frankenstein

Thanks for the invite, looking forward to your next production

Daniel May