This greatly anticipated production of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein comedy stage musical ( adapted from the original 1974 movie ) was having its press night last night, and it was full of excitement on arrival, many familiar faces there to support friends, family and colleagues. A warm welcome as always from the delightful front of house and hospitality staff.
This is also the theatre’s 10th Anniversary Production.
Hope Mill never disappoints in its musical theatre productions, and this one has Nick Winston as Director and Choreographer, who also created the wonderfully entertaining Mame revival in 2019 for HMT.
The programme revealed an impressive cast and production team and made for interesting reading before and after the show.
The main character is a respected surgeon and academic in New York who inherits a property in Europe and has to travel there to discover what is there and what it means for him. He meets a group of local characters who are there to ‘assist’ him in his endeavours and then steer him towards the one thing he has vowed he will avoid.
The attempt to correct mistakes in previous experiments leads to fleeting success then disaster as they try to correct what they have done, the past also catches up with them unexpectedly and adds to the drama and confusion.
Dr Frederick Frankenstein is played by Ore Oduba and is a fantastic central character, full of energy and confidence and easily tempted away from his ambitions… He was incredible to watch right from the start, phenomenal dancer and wonderfully charismatic to watch.
Elizabeth Benning played by Rhiannon Chesterman is perky, self absorbed and totally in control of her life and relationship ( or is she…. ) very well played in both her incarnations ( what a transformation ! )
Igor, the servant at the castle, played by Curtis Patrick was just as hilarious as the original movie character played by Marty Feldman ( yes, I am that old ) and dancing with skill and incorporating the characters physical limitations with the comic elements must have taken a lot of work but was executed perfectly. Delightful.
Inga the Doctors assistant, played by Julie Yammanee, was a cute, funny, sexy character with wonderful comic timing and gorgeous to look at, she has some hilarious routines ( Roll in the Hay our favourite ) and again, a wonderful dancer and singer.
Frau Blücher played by Jessica Martin was darkly comic ( He Vas My Boyfriend was fabulous ) and the Monster played by Pete Gallagher was fantastic, his character transformation was so entertaining, hugely funny and endearing. We loved the shadow dancing scene.
Adored the lyrics of all of the songs, Brooks is a clever wordsmith and it’s fascinating to hear them sung live so professionally. The Brain was a particularly good example, we loved it.
The Vaudevillian charm of Together Again For The First Time with Frederick and Igor was a brilliant scene.
So much of it was laugh out loud funny, and the sauciness of some of the humour was so cheeky and the audience loved it.
Perfect comic timing, slap stick routines, slick choreography and superb vocals combined to make one hell of an experience. I’ve rarely heard an audience laugh quite so much and the energy was constant, even in the less frenetic scenes there was still a compelling spectacle to be wowed by.
The whole cast were outstanding in every way. We loved the big dance numbers and every scene was a delight – The Brain, Please Don’t Touch Me, Transylvania Mania, Putting on the Ritz were just out of this world good. You could see that the entire cast were having a ball.
Lighting and sound were totally on point, loved the staging too. Hair, makeup and costumes were all done so incredibly well, so much detail and thought. A real feast for the eyes in every scene. And what a treat to have a live band playing throughout ( albeit tucked away behind the scenes )
It never ceases to amaze how Hope Mill produce such quality shows with a big impact in such a relatively small space. They just get better and better, though it hardly seems possible to top the last one, they do. Imaginative creativity, inclusion and passion is at their heart and we are all the better for it. I could write all day about this show!
Standing ovation at the finish well deserved. Such a joy to see a cast so appreciated. I will definitely see this again. Get along to see it soon, I’m sure it will sell out every performance.
Thanks of course to William Whelton and Joseph Houston, founders and creators of Hope Mill. Happy 10th Anniversary and may there be many more to come.
Christine Ince for Ancoats Plus
