‘Young Frankenstein’ Actors Admire The Masters
July 12, 2017 at 5:46 p.m.
‘Young Frankenstein’ Actors Admire The Masters
By David [email protected]
Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts is bringing the latter to its stage through July 22 with theater veterans Ben Dicke as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and Andy Robinson as The Monster.
“The two of us started working here 14 summers ago ... off and on for Ben, more consistently for me,” Robinson said.
Audiences last saw Robinson as the Rev. Crisparkle in this summer’s production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” Dicke last acted on the Wagon Wheel stage in 2009 as Burt in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” with his notable role that summer as Nathan Detroit in “Guys & Dolls” opposite Jennifer Dow’s Miss Adelaide.
“It’s good ... I get to play with her in this show as well because she’s Frau Blücher, who conjures the whining horses throughout the piece. She’s back here. (Kira) Lace Hawkins is in this show,” Dicke said.
“We’ve got some old-timers among the principles, which is fun for us,” Robinson added.
Dicke said the musical of “Young Frankenstein” follows the movie closely. “The only big changes are some production numbers, which, of course, you want, showcasing Scott Michaels’ fabulous direction and choreography. But the scenes are really intact. All the jokes you love from the film are really in this musical.
“And I’d like to think that while we’re not aping the film, we are paying homage quite often to the things that fans of the film will know and love,” Dicke explained.
Robinson said Brooks loved old pieces, musicals and films.
“So the adaptation that he did of the film ‘Young Frankenstein’ is very smartly located as a ’30s, ’40s movie musical so the places where the film story has been expanded all sort of fit in a logical way. Even punchlines of jokes turned into musical numbers seems to be a formula that he follows,” Robinson said.
“That’s a great distinction, too,” Dicke said. “Oftentimes you’ll have a film adapted for the stage by an outside team, but this is Mel Brooks’ own film and his own theatrical product, so obviously he’s going to take a lot of careful ownership over the production and that’s what you get to see when you come see the show.”
Robinson said it makes sense that Brooks adapted “The Producers” and “Young Frankenstein” for the stage as musicals.
“‘The Producers’ was a film about a musical, and this (‘Young Frankenstein’) was a contemporary film done in the style of an old film, so they’re sort of super-genre ready for musical adaptation,” Robinson said.
Dicke said the films also didn’t have too many locations, which can be a problem when adapting them to the stage.
Neither Dicke or Robinson has been in a Brooks musical before, but Dicke said “The Producers” is a show he’d like to do.
“I’ve been a fan of the films. In fact, my little sister and I – this (‘Young Frankenstein’) is one of the films that we watched all the time. A silent movie of his, ‘Spaceballs,’ ‘Blazing Saddles,’ ‘A History of the World’ – I grew up watching all of those (Mel Brooks) movies,” Dicke said.
Robinson said, “I know that I’ve learned things from watching those old films that we’re then putting into practice in whatever directing work we’re doing because we tend to work a lot with comedies when we work with a play here or elsewhere. There are some basic rules you learn by watching some of the masterful like Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn.”
He said “Young Frankenstein” is a spoof of old horror movies played very seriously.
Dicke said Brooks did a western with “Blazing Saddles,” a space film with “Spaceballs,” an Alfred Hitchcock treatment with “High Anxiety” and the monster movie with “Young Frankenstein.”
“He’s kind of taken on all the major film genres over the course of his career,” he said.
The original cast of “Young Frankenstein” had an absurd amount of talent in it, Dicke said, but the Wagon Wheel cast “is so good” that he’s not too worried about it.
Robinson said that while fans of the film will have a very particular and fun experience, “you don’t have to know the film to have a really good time.”
During the first rehearsal of “Young Frankenstein,” he said, a couple of the younger cast members were “rolling” with laughter, though neither had seen the film version.
“Good comedy is good comedy,” Dicke said.
Over the years, Dicke and Robinson also have directed shows at the Wagon Wheel, including this summer’s production of “The Crucible,” which will run July 26 to Aug. 5.
“The Crucible” is a 1953 dramatic play by Arthur Miller. It is a fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the late 17th century. Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.
“We’re very excited to offer a true drama at the Wagon Wheel, which hasn’t been on the stage here for 10 to 12 years, since ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’” Dicke said.
Robinson said, “I think ‘The Crucible’ is one of the masterpieces of English literature and American theater. I think it’s hard to beat in terms of tragedy coming out of American history and the American experience.”
Robinson said their production of “The Crucible” will be a bit stripped down, meaning they’re working in a more experimental way on the play.
To watch the complete interview with Dicke and Robinson, visit the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com.
Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts is bringing the latter to its stage through July 22 with theater veterans Ben Dicke as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and Andy Robinson as The Monster.
“The two of us started working here 14 summers ago ... off and on for Ben, more consistently for me,” Robinson said.
Audiences last saw Robinson as the Rev. Crisparkle in this summer’s production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” Dicke last acted on the Wagon Wheel stage in 2009 as Burt in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” with his notable role that summer as Nathan Detroit in “Guys & Dolls” opposite Jennifer Dow’s Miss Adelaide.
“It’s good ... I get to play with her in this show as well because she’s Frau Blücher, who conjures the whining horses throughout the piece. She’s back here. (Kira) Lace Hawkins is in this show,” Dicke said.
“We’ve got some old-timers among the principles, which is fun for us,” Robinson added.
Dicke said the musical of “Young Frankenstein” follows the movie closely. “The only big changes are some production numbers, which, of course, you want, showcasing Scott Michaels’ fabulous direction and choreography. But the scenes are really intact. All the jokes you love from the film are really in this musical.
“And I’d like to think that while we’re not aping the film, we are paying homage quite often to the things that fans of the film will know and love,” Dicke explained.
Robinson said Brooks loved old pieces, musicals and films.
“So the adaptation that he did of the film ‘Young Frankenstein’ is very smartly located as a ’30s, ’40s movie musical so the places where the film story has been expanded all sort of fit in a logical way. Even punchlines of jokes turned into musical numbers seems to be a formula that he follows,” Robinson said.
“That’s a great distinction, too,” Dicke said. “Oftentimes you’ll have a film adapted for the stage by an outside team, but this is Mel Brooks’ own film and his own theatrical product, so obviously he’s going to take a lot of careful ownership over the production and that’s what you get to see when you come see the show.”
Robinson said it makes sense that Brooks adapted “The Producers” and “Young Frankenstein” for the stage as musicals.
“‘The Producers’ was a film about a musical, and this (‘Young Frankenstein’) was a contemporary film done in the style of an old film, so they’re sort of super-genre ready for musical adaptation,” Robinson said.
Dicke said the films also didn’t have too many locations, which can be a problem when adapting them to the stage.
Neither Dicke or Robinson has been in a Brooks musical before, but Dicke said “The Producers” is a show he’d like to do.
“I’ve been a fan of the films. In fact, my little sister and I – this (‘Young Frankenstein’) is one of the films that we watched all the time. A silent movie of his, ‘Spaceballs,’ ‘Blazing Saddles,’ ‘A History of the World’ – I grew up watching all of those (Mel Brooks) movies,” Dicke said.
Robinson said, “I know that I’ve learned things from watching those old films that we’re then putting into practice in whatever directing work we’re doing because we tend to work a lot with comedies when we work with a play here or elsewhere. There are some basic rules you learn by watching some of the masterful like Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn.”
He said “Young Frankenstein” is a spoof of old horror movies played very seriously.
Dicke said Brooks did a western with “Blazing Saddles,” a space film with “Spaceballs,” an Alfred Hitchcock treatment with “High Anxiety” and the monster movie with “Young Frankenstein.”
“He’s kind of taken on all the major film genres over the course of his career,” he said.
The original cast of “Young Frankenstein” had an absurd amount of talent in it, Dicke said, but the Wagon Wheel cast “is so good” that he’s not too worried about it.
Robinson said that while fans of the film will have a very particular and fun experience, “you don’t have to know the film to have a really good time.”
During the first rehearsal of “Young Frankenstein,” he said, a couple of the younger cast members were “rolling” with laughter, though neither had seen the film version.
“Good comedy is good comedy,” Dicke said.
Over the years, Dicke and Robinson also have directed shows at the Wagon Wheel, including this summer’s production of “The Crucible,” which will run July 26 to Aug. 5.
“The Crucible” is a 1953 dramatic play by Arthur Miller. It is a fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the late 17th century. Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.
“We’re very excited to offer a true drama at the Wagon Wheel, which hasn’t been on the stage here for 10 to 12 years, since ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’” Dicke said.
Robinson said, “I think ‘The Crucible’ is one of the masterpieces of English literature and American theater. I think it’s hard to beat in terms of tragedy coming out of American history and the American experience.”
Robinson said their production of “The Crucible” will be a bit stripped down, meaning they’re working in a more experimental way on the play.
To watch the complete interview with Dicke and Robinson, visit the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com.
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