On Stage: Young Frankenstein

When Romantic and Gothic era authors got together in the early nineteenth-century for a “ghost story challenge,” the course of literature was forever changed. During the year without summer—the result of the eruption of Mount Tamboro in Indonesia in April of 1815—a series of stories and poems were read by candle light and hearth, including John Polidori’s The Vampyre and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein - Crest Theatre at Delray Beach Center for the Arts - Entr'Acte Theatrix

   Frankenstein, a name that stokes fear and, as it was received then, a warning of an increasingly scientific and industrialized world, has gone on to become one of the most enduring pieces of science fiction and Gothic writing, spurring numerous retreads of the man-made monster. One such re-imagining is the hilarious Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks’ adaptation, Young Frankenstein—pronounced Fronkensteen! The 1974 film was such a success it spurred a Broadway musical adaptation, growing in name to The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein. Entr’Acte Theatrix will bring this hilarious horror parody to the Crest Theatre at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts from October 22 to November 1.

   Based on the novel, which was based on hints of historical figures and events, Young Frankenstein follows the tale of Victor Frankenstein’s grandson, who has returned to the family estate in Transylvania to attempt to complete his “mad scientist” grandfather’s work. Together with Igor (pronounced Eye-gor!), the two reanimate a corpse to quite a few a laughs.

  • The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein will take the Crest Theatre stage from October 22-November 1. Tickets cost $30, $20 for students. For more information, call 561-243-7922, or visit delraycenterforthearts.org.

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