Mel Brooks got so much mileage out of the Broadway version of his movie *The Producers *that he's at it again, turning his hilarious 70s horror sendup Young Frankenstein into a musical that will hit stages in Seattle and New York beginning in August. The original flick was co-authored by Brooks and Gene Wilder (who also plays the tormented Dr. Frankenstein -- "Doctor Frah-ken-STEEN," he scolds anytime somebody pronounces it otherwise). It stars the amazing Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher, and Marty Feldman as Igor. Best scene ever: Frankenstein orders Igor to get a brain for the monster he's building, but Igor drops the "genius" brain his boss has requested. Panicked, he grabs the first brain he can find -- one that's in a jar labeled "abnormal." The monster awakens and begins to run stupidly amok, and Frankenstein asks Igor whose brain he really got. "Um, Abby somebody," replies Igor. "Abby Normal, I think." Yes, that's why so many people use the name Abby Normal when they sign up for Hotmail accounts.
I'm sure the musical won't recreate the anarchic zaniness of the original film, but turning it into a musical can't be bad. As the folks at SFSignal put it:
The slightly more staid Broadway World gives us the 411:
I hope there's a whole musical number devoted to the pronunciation of Frankstein vs. Frah-ken-STEEN. Find out more on the official website.
