When it comes to making monsters— you can’t beat the Frankensteins! And when it comes to producing live musical theatre in crafty clever way that suits the uniquely intimate performance space tucked away in the corner of the state in Rising Sun— you can’t beat Street Lamp Community Theatre. Currently animating a production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein— directed by Allan Herlinger with musical direction by LaShelle Bray and choreography by Christie Janney— Street Lamp Community Theatre is puttin’ on the Ritz; it’s a real Transylvania Mania!
Set Designers Kevin Woods and Director Al Herlinger have creatively fabricated a whimsical, albeit gothic, play space for this production of Young Frankenstein, completely with a multi-level setting which allows for some clever staging during some of the bigger musical numbers. Without wanting to spoil too much of the magic— the ‘secret laboratory’ is a nifty trick and Herlinger and Woods have ‘rotated’ into the set maximizing the use of their scenic-build without compromising the pacing and length of their overall scene-changes. Their combined efforts— particularly when it comes to the ‘switches’ on the wall in the laboratory (my favorite being the infamous “Third Switch” which even says— ‘never ever touch this switch you hunchbacked idiot!!!’) and all of the very clever things that lighting designer Joshua Hawkes helps them to execute with the projections— make for a sound production with a lot of impressive special effects. (Seriously— watch the ‘portrait magic’ preceding “Join the Family Business” or the background graverobbing shenanigans that precedes “The Law.”) Woods, Herlinger, and Hawkes are all thinking way outside the box when it comes to the production design elements of this performance, especially when it comes to playing with light and darkness (and sometimes a little too much darkness…poor Hermit!) Ultimately the staging, scenery, lighting design with projections, and special effects are a great success and make the performance that much more entertaining.
Props to Costume Coordinator Stephanie Peterson for pulling out some truly impressive looks— that would totally go down in the YF-lookbook-feature (if Young Frankenstein were a 2022-set musical.) Peterson gets a gorgeous garnet A-list Hollywood grade dress with some serious Jessica Rabbit vibes for Elizabeth’s first appearance (complete with matching stole) and when said darling, madcap fiancé gate-crashes the laboratory in Act II— the outfit is channeling that 50’s sock-hop celebrity realness, which is perfect for the over-the-top nature of the character. A blend of basic peasant tops (and a really clever lime-n-lemon summer dress that looks like it came straight off Target’s new ‘Lil-House’ line) give the villagers of Transylvania their ‘rustic’ look, and there are lab coats a plenty for dancing ancestors and med-students alike (one in the same with this talented, small-numbered ensemble) in this production. The Monster’s brown funerary suit even looks like something a stiff could conceivably be buried in!
Choreography at the community theatre level is always a challenge— for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which is ever the varying levels of dancing talent that turns up to auditions— but it’s one that Choreographer Christie Janney rises to with rigorous aplomb. Not only does Janney meet and surpass that challenge but she fits innovative routines into the unusually small space that don’t look crowded or scaled back for the purposes of “adapting to the space”. Janney’s masterworks are featured during “Puttin’ On The Ritz”, “Transylvania Mania”, and “Please Don’t Touch Me!” where the couples who don’t-touch while dancing fill both the lower and upper level of the stage for this silly dance. There’s even a cane-pole tapping kick-line in there somewhere. Hats off to Janney for her hard work, the result of which is some exuberant and energetic choreography that really gets the toes tapping; you’ll want to hop up and join in “Transylvania Mania” right along with the cast.
Working with ‘canned’ music is always a little tricky but Musical Director LaShelle Bray, with her assistant Mia Bray, has managed to keep the cast plowing forward and really delivering when it comes to the big group numbers. While the company is still finding their balance with volume (I think we all sat home alone in our living rooms for so long we forgot that sometimes we need to use those big Broadway belting voices, particularly when the actors don’t have body-mics) the musical harmonies and melodies sound clean. Bray has put some musical tricks of the trade— like pushing into head voice for a clear and clean sustained note when the song dips up just a tiny bit higher than the actor’s chest-range vocals— the result of which is a solid sounding show. And the level of clean articulation— particularly when Frederick Frankenstein is pattering at speed through “The Brain (seriously, hats off to Leif McCurry for getting all through that nearly as good as Roger Bart— and check the projections flipping at lightning speed too!)— that Bray evokes from her cast when they’re singing more patter-cadenced songs is impressive. Words matter, particularly in a Mel Brooks show and that’s something that LaShelle Bray and the company nail on the head.
Director Al Herlinger understands the comedy and the pacing of Mel Brooks’ work. It’s all the little comic joys— that I don’t want to spoil by listing (but the opening coffin-removal scene…watch it track its way through the space and try not to laugh as it…leaves the space)— that really make the production humorous and enjoyable. Good casting, a solid handle on how to deliver comedy in the casting and firm coaching on how to make these characters both larger than life but believable is what makes this production a success. The enthusiasm radiating off of the cast comes in waves, crashing infectiously out over the audience— you really do feel like you’re a part of all the joyous entertainment this comic musical is bringing you.
With a cast of just shy of a dozen and a half performers, its easy to pick out the ones who are going above and beyond— and that’s saying something because everyone is really on-point in this production. Meghan Fannin and Jeneane Kraft are the dance superstars in the production with indefatigable smiles that never quit, particularly during the tap-n-cane routine. The entire ensemble (Tristan Jenis, Michael Maistros, Meghan Fannin, Kalea Bray, Amy Tucker, Lindsay Hamilton, Emily Jewett, Jeneane Kraft) bring high energy to the various and sundry times when they’re on stage; it’s a delight to watch them work their way through this show.
Scott Kukuck may get one lone credit in the program— the singing role of Dr. Victor Frankenstein— but he’s a truly seasoned character man (and half the fun is watching where and how else he pops up in the production!) Kukuck is maniacal and insane during “Join The Family Business” bouncing all around the stage and putting none-too-fine a point on the importance of not denouncing one’s family history. Kukuck’s animated eyeballs are arguably the most effervescent in the production. Watch him as coffin carrier, the ‘unknown patient assistant’ (one of my personal favorites because he looks so brilliantly bewildered), and of course as a certain ‘vampire’ during the show, just to name a zany few.
It’s difficult to say which role Tom Hartzell excels at more— Ziggy the village idiot or The Hermit, who is blind and oh-so-lonely. The utter shenanigans that Hartzell gets up to as Ziggy are just belly-laugh-worthy. And he’s quite comic when flipping out upon first encountering The Monster too. As The Hermit, he’s given a solo (at this performance, sung masterfully and navigated in near total darkness due to a lighting malfunction giving an astonishing and impressive new meaning to ‘the show must go on’) “Someone” and Hartzell is putting some real heartfelt sound, tempered in hearty balance with the comedy of the lyrics, to this tune.
Stiff, rigid, and with a hilariously colorful accent (and too-perfect bright yellow ‘wig’) Rya Kaczmarczyk is the epitome of what one could hope for when it comes to Inspector Kemp. The plastic delivery of lines, the purposefully mumbled delivery to enhance the comedic effect of the villagers not quite understanding him, all of it comes into a neatly packaged humorous performance delivered by Kaczmarczyk. And he has a clear, well-tuned voice for singing too. He even shows off some ‘moves’ during his solo-dance break feature in “Transylvania Mania.”
Vying for title of ‘most animated facial features and eyes’ in this production, Nate Gordon as The Monster is truly electrifying. Everything from Gordon’s physical expressions of his body— from trying to step when first reanimated to learning to ‘dance’ during “Puttin’ On The Ritz”— to the way he articulately expresses his emotions through a series of indistinguishable grunts, Gordon really makes The Monster a fantastical character. The high-falsetto sounds he sings during “Puttin’ On The Ritz” are delightful as well. Lumbering about the stage in true monster fashion, Gordon fits the bill for Frankenstein’s creation, particularly when it comes to some of the more physical scenes— like attempting to strangle his creator and getting ‘involved’ with certain lady characters.
With a sweet, simplistic approach to the character (let’s face it, Inga is one delectable walking sex-pun) Mo Tacka gets the audience to pay her all the attention every time she sings, moves, and speaks. Her soprano sound is a delight when she’s slip-sliding through numbers like “Roll in the Hay” and “Listen To Your Heart”. Her accent, comedically in-tune with the stylings of Mel Brooks’ shows, adds some of the deeply expected humors of the movie. And she plays well with both Igor and Frederick, an important part of succeeding when playing Inga. Some of the physical positions she finds herself in are hysterical and you should hear her yodel all through “Roll in the Hay.”
Full of the— hyper-spastic, Roger-Bart-inspired energy that accompanies one Frederick Frankenstein, Leif McCurry has a strong, solid voice that can really sustain a note, and when he hits those sustains in pitch, it’s really, very impressive. As previously mentioned, his perfect and articulate patter during the ‘science-section’ of “The Brain” is one of the most impressive feats of the performance. Watching his character shift— and you can physically see it on both his face and in his bod language— during “Join the Family Business” is another rare treat (hell, he’s even still doing the footwork of the dance moves when he collapses back into the chair for his ‘notchemare’.) McCurry blends well with Igor and Inga during “Transylvania Mania” and “Puttin’ On The Ritz” and has a whole bunch of fun both vocally and physically when cracking up with Igor during “Together Again.”
There’s an argument to be made in this production that Frau Blucher (*cue horse whinny*) and Elizabeth Benning are vying for the role of ‘leading lady’ because of just how exuberant and over-the-top their two personalities are. In the role of the stalwart, creepy housekeeper, Caitlyn Shaffstall as Frau Blucher (*cue horse whinny*) is bringing some darkly humorous vibes to the stage (and slaying in that pinstripe hybrid costume that is half-Blucher half-Lovette.) Shaffstall understand the comedic deliver of this character well— and even gets a few perfectly in-character ad-libs to cover some mistakes as they arise. (Mistakes happen, this is live theater after all, and Shaffstall understands the character so well that unless you’ve been studying the script, you’d hardly know these were ad-libbed moments, they feel so ‘in-character.’) And when she bottom-belts out “He Vas My Boyfriend” you find yourself bombastically laughing along at this ludicrous song.
Katie Gordon, as Elizabeth Benning, the madcap darling fiancé of Freddie, is just indescribable. She takes the role, wrings it out, wraps it around herself like a fancy feather boa, and wears the hell out of it, really selling it to the audience beyond a shadow of a doubt. With the nasally, obnoxious affected voice masterfully delivered in a way that is just grating enough to be hilarious but not too irritating to be off-putting, Gordon is serving up her own interpretation of Megan Mullally realness combined with her own special sauce. Vocally acrobatic— she can throw belty-chest-voice sounds around during “Please Don’t Touch Me” and wing them straight into an almost operatic soprano sound so that she hits the notes clearly without compromising the sound or comedic tone of the song. You get to see this again in “Deep Love” as well. There isn’t anything you won’t love about her portrayal of this character; she’s not afraid of the sexuality and sensuality and downright absurdity of the role. And she owns it, shimmy-shaking all over during the raunchier bits of the songs. (She gets to belt out “Tits! Tits! Tits! Tits! And have a huge sustain on the word and she doesn’t shy away from that either; not one iota.)
Stealing the show and chewing on the humor— like he chews on Elizabeth’s stole— Brian Ruff makes for the epitome of Igor. The accent and vocal sound that everyone expects from the iconic character is spot-on and Ruff carries it flawlessly from speaking into singing. There aren’t enough words to extol all of Ruff’s successes in this role. He’s charming, he’s energetic and enthusiastic, he’s got facial expressions and body language for days and miles; he’s a true triple-threat, singing, dancing, balancing comic acting, and is running away with the show tucked up in his hump. (What hump?) Ruff leads most of “Together Again”, as the character isn’t really assigned a lengthy solo, but when he does sing, you’re tapping your toes, giggling along and enjoying every minute of it. When he bursts into moan-wail song for the beginning of Transylvania Mania, Ruff proves that he’s more than just a comic ham with a set of powerful pipes. There’s real finesse being unloaded into this outrageous construction of Igor.
The show’s a doozy— won’t make you woozy— so you better come and see these hits— because Street Lamp Community Theatre’s Young Frankenstein is put-put-puttin’ on— the Ritz!
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Young Frankenstein plays through May 22, 2022 with Street Lamp Community Theatre at Street Lamp Productions— 5 Valley View Drive in Rising Sun, MD. For tickets call the box office at (410) 658-5088 or purchase them online.
