Young Frankenstein--OBC album

Spoofs are a difficult balance, I would suppose, particularly when a spoof from one medium is adapted into another--as is the case with Young Frankenstein. Fortunately, with the practiced hands of Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman (who previously shepherded The Producers to the stage) that balance is handled deftly in most cases with their new show.

Mel Brooks is the composer and lyricist for these shows--as well as being the screenwriter of the original films that are the source materials for the shows--and I wonder how much of a composer he is. I don't mean that as a slight to the music of Young Frankenstein. Clearly Mr. Brooks has very specific tunes in his head that he hears for each character and situation. Not surprisingly, many of the tunes have a slight Yiddish, Borscht-belt sound to them (as did tunes in The Producers). I'm certain Brooks doesn't orchestrate the songs, but does he harmonize them? Or just write down (or record) the tunes?

I used to joke that Roger Bart stole my career. A poor joke as Mr. Bart has obvious talents that I can only play-act at. I question Mr. Bart in this leading role, though. His light tenor voice is a little thin for my tastes. I could wish for a more robust sound from my leading man. The same for my leading lady. Megan Mullally is deft at delivering the single-entendres of her songs, but the timbre of her voice is a little modern and nasal for me. And I think I need to see the full show to understand why she has such a weird accent in the dialogue on this disk.

Sutton Foster and Schuler Hensley are two performers I have liked very much in past shows. Mr. Hensley isn't well-represented on this cast album, so it's hard to determine his performance. I continue to find Ms. Foster delightful. Yes, she also has a modern, slightly nasal singing voice, but somehow it doesn't strike me as much as Ms. Mullally's. Or perhaps it's the 2nd fiddle syndrome, where I want my leading lady to be a legit singer, while the comic duo can be different.

I have the cast album of Shrek with Ms. Foster waiting for my Thinking; perhaps we'll see how I like her in a leading lady position.

The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Music and lyrics by Mel Brooks
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Opened November 8, 2007
Cast: Roger Bart, Shuler Hensley, Sutton Foster, Megan Mullally, Andrea Martin, Fred Applegate