HILARITY RESURRECTED: Ovation! brings ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life

Published 8:08 am Thursday, June 16, 2016

It’s alive!

And it’s a riot.

The Mel Brooks musical “Young Frankenstein,” based on the iconic 1974 film, will be brought to life by Ovation! Performing Arts Northwest at the Bainbridge High School theater starting Friday, June 17.

The film is a send up of the classic Universal Studios monster movies of the 1930s and ‘40s, with lots of old-timey vaudeville staples and wordplay worthy of the Marx Brothers.

Starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and Peter Boyle, it ranked No. 28 on Total Film magazine’s reader’s “List of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films of All Time,” No. 56 on Bravo TV’s list of the “100 Funniest Movies” and No. 13 on the American Film Institute’s list of “The 100 Funniest American Movies” and the musical was nominated for three Tony Awards.

In the story, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein — “That’s pronounced Fronkensteen!” — (played in the Bainbridge production by Peter Vosshall) is a medical professor at a prestigious American university trying desperately to distance himself from his infamous relative. Things are good for the doc. He’s respected at work, and engaged to the gorgeous Elizabeth (Ashley Roy, also the choreographer). He then learns that his notorious relative has died and that he must travel to Transylvania to take possession of the family estate or it will fall into the hands of the tax authorities. He does, much to the chagrin of the formerly terrified villagers, and soon finds himself immersed and increasingly obsessed with his grandfather’s macabre machinations.

That’s all there is to it. Don’t go searching for a lot of subtext here, said the show’s director Ron Milton. It’s not deep. It’s not philosophical and there’s no moral — no morals at all, actually.

It is, after all, a Mel Brooks show.

“I usually like to try do a show that has something to do with improving the human condition,” Milton said. “But the only way this will improve you is make you laugh.

“I’ve never done a show like this.”

Being the island company’s first Brooks show, Milton said, “Young Frankenstein” is surprisingly intricate.

“It’s like 19 scenes of really well-written Saturday Night Live,” he said. “It’s very complex and there are jokes that go all the way back to the ’20s and vaudeville.”

Speedy scene changes, a lot of physical comedy and incredibly demanding annunciation in lightning-quick songs make the show much more taxing than many people might think.

The Ovation! production features musical direction by Caroline Pierce, and also stars Hannah Berkimer as Inga, Chyna Riedel as Igor, Marijane C. Milton as Frau Blucher, Ross Eide as Inspector Hans Kemp, Andy Rimkus as Victor Frankenstein, Myriah Riedel as the Blind Hermit and Grace Schmitt as Ziggy.

Leading man Vosshall — who audiences will recognize from recent turns in “H.M.S. Pinafore” and “Oliver!” — is stepping up to a much larger role in this production.

“I’ve been enjoying Ovation! so much over the last year it was a no-brainer to give it another shot,” he said.

Vosshall explained that his relatively recent return to musical theater, something he enjoyed very much in high school but did not have an opportunity to pursue for some time, came at the encouragement of his daughters, also Ovation! regulars.

“I came to see ‘Peter Pan,’” he remembered. “And it was like, ‘Wow! This is really cool.’ And I started joking around with my daughter like, ‘Hey, should I audition?’ ‘Yeah, totally.’ It’s really fun.”

This show boasts more choreography and technical effects than his previous Ovation! outings, Vosshall said. And even basic things like memorizing all the lyrics and blocking are more nuanced than the audience may even realize.

“It’s definitely more challenging,” he added. “It’s always hard because you want to make sure you’re true to the film but not just copy it. So I’ve wanted to make sure I’m true to it but not study it so deeply that I’m copying it.”

The show will run from Friday, June 17 through Sunday, July 3 with shows at

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Bainbridge High School Theater.

Get tickets, $22 for adults, $19 for seniors, students and military and $15 for children 12 and under, at www.ovationmtb.com, at the door (as available) or 1-800-838-3006, ext. 1.

It’s a little Abby Normal

What: The Ovation! Performing Arts Northwest production of “Young Frankenstein.”

When: Friday, June 17 through Sunday, July 3 with shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

Where: The Bainbridge High School Theater (9330 High School Rd NE).

Admission: Tickets, $22 for adults, $19 for seniors, students and military and $15 for children 12 and under, can be purchased at www.ovationmtb.com, at the door (as available) and also by phone at 1-800-838-3006, ext. 1.