MARINE CITY, MI–Let’s start this review by giving well-deserved homage to one of the greatest comedic actors, writers and filmmakers, Mel Brooks, who is responsible for so many iconic film comedies, among them The Producers, High Anxiety, History of the World Part I, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein.  Take one of those comedies, Young Frankenstein, and adapt it for the stage, with Thomas Meehan collaborating with Brooks to write the book.  While you’re at it, make it a musical too, with Brooks himself as composer and lyricist. A formula like that—with Mel Brooks being the main variable—can only result in a reliably hysterical product.

Young Frankenstein is a parody and sequel of the classic horror story in which Dr. Victor Frankenstein brings life to a corpse.  In this story, Victor’s grandson Frederick Frankenstein (Joel Frazee) is not only a genius researcher of the human brain, but has changed the pronunciation of his name in order to escape the tainted shadow of his grandfather’s doomed experiment.  When Frederick learns that his grandfather has died and left Frederick his estate, he travels to Transylvania take care of the paperwork, then plans to return to his research—and to his fiancé, the voluptuous Elizabeth, who bids him farewell in a slinky gown, while also forbidding him to touch her before marriage.

Upon arrival in Transylvania, Frederick is immediately distracted from his purpose by the humpback Igor (Evan Houdek), grandson of Victor’s original assistant, and a new lab assistant, the lovely Inga (Lauren Mackenzie Riggs).  At the Frankenstein Castle, they are greeted by housekeeper Frau Blücher (Terri Turpin-Amato), who they later learn was Victor’s girlfriend.

In his castle chambers, Frederick has a dream in which his grandfather Victor (Ian Francis) encourages Frederick to follow in his experimental footsteps, and after reviewing Victor’s notes, Frederick decides to carry on his Victor’s work. Igor steals a corpse for the purpose, and their experiment culminates in bringing a new monster to life, but the monster (Adam Sanborn) is not what any of them expect.  The already suspicious townsfolk, led by Inspector Kemp (Brian Wyzgowski), gather outside the castle and begin to wonder at the mysterious sounds coming from inside, but the doctor and his team distract them by performing the newest dance craze (“Transylvania Mania”), while Frau Blücher secretly helps the monster escape to end Act I.

As Act II opens, the Inspector and villagers are concerned about the monster on the loose.  Frederick is now burdened not only with finding the missing monster, but also juggling his budding relationship with Inga and the appearance of Elizabeth. Meanwhile, in the forest, the monster becomes the unwitting victim of the blunders of a blind hermit (Mitchell Sobolewski).

Frederick, Igor and Inga find the monster and bring him back to the castle, where Frederick decides to treat him with love and acculturate him. The team trains the monster to perform song and dance, but during his debut performance, the monster becomes spooked; he reverts to his brutish nature, picks up Elizabeth and carries her off to a cave, where she discovers he is not as brutish as others would believe.

Igor uses music to lure the monster back to the castle, where Frederick attempts to remedy the mess by transferring his own intelligence to the monster’s brain.  The Inspector and mob of villagers arrive in the lab, looking to punish someone for the presumed death of Elizabeth, who is still missing.  As the mob attempts to execute Frederick, the monster saves him from death by hanging.  Finally, Elizabeth’s reappearance saves both Frederick and the monster from the wrath of the mob, and the show ends celebrating two new romances.

The comedy style of Mel Brooks is stamped all over this musical, from the quirky characters, to the sexual innuendo, to the physical gags.  Additionally, Brooks adds his clever and creative humor to the song lyrics; for example, the audience is introduced to Frederick as a genius scientist in “(There Is Nothing Like) The Brain,” which is packed with complex scientific terminology arranged into rhythmic rhymes. In “Roll In The Hay,” every line does double duty, acting as a literal ride to the castle layered over an overtly sexual tease.  Other notable musical numbers are “Together Again For The First Time,” a buddy duet by Frederick and Igor; “Life, Life,” the culmination of the experiment that brings life to the monster; “Transylvania Mania,” when the villagers learn monstrous dance moves; “Puttin’ On The Ritz,” the monster’s song and dance debut; and “Deep Love,” Elizabeth’s response to the joy of physical passion.

Vocally, the nod has to go to Kaila Szafranski as Elizabeth, whose exceptional voice embodied the glamorous showgirl style of her character. Frazee as Frederick and Riggs as Inga also gave admirable vocal performances, and the supporting cast performed very strongly. Comically, Evan Houdek as Igor consistently elicited laughs as the creepy yet adorable hunchback; and Sanborn as The Monster uttered moans and grunts in distinctively humorous fashion.

There were a couple of moments of line hesitation or missed timing, surprising on the second weekend of performances. More consequential to the audience were several instances of microphone inconsistency, requiring performers to vocally compensate.  

But those instances were rather buried by laughter, as the jokes keep on coming throughout the show. Overall, this production can be described as “PG-13,” due to plenty of sexual situations and innuendo, salty humor, and a few instances of course language. If you are not laughing regularly from start to finish, you probably aren’t really watching.

Young Frankenstein is playing at The Riverbank Theatre through November 17, 2024.  For tickets and information, visit www.ThumbCoastTheaters.com.