Young Frankenstein Theatre Royal Newcastle/Garrick London

I was there too - 2nd row day seat which offers a great view, much better than the 1st row as the stage is high.

I liked the show although it was a bit rough around the edges. It played like a preview. I saw the original version and this is quite different. It now opens on what used to be the second scene - Frankenstein's lecture - and the scenes that follow have all been tightened up, especially the book scenes. Song now follows song in rapid succession, almost to the point where it's highlights from Young Frankenstein. There are two new songs - "It Could Work", for the leads and "Hang Him Till He's Dead" for Inspector Kemp and the Townspeople, neither particularly distinguished.

The second act is less changed although the ending felt like it had been tampered with and elongated but my memory is not good enough to get specific. The cast is strong, no week links, although, Hadley Fraser, good as he is in every other way, is not a natural funnyman. Frankenstein is by far the most difficult role to play and, of course, the Gene Wilder template can never be matched, but Roger Bart, on Broadway, did have some of Wilder's deadpan weirdness and Fraser lacks that.

The audience ate it up. It just might be a hit this time around.

Wey-hey! What a frolic!

'Young Frankenstein' this afternoon was all I was hoping for and then some. I have never seen the film and knew nothing about the original Broadway version, although I am very familiar with 'The Producers' (film and stage show) and 'Blazing Saddles' (film) so I had a fair idea what to expect. I loved the first act with all its jokes, clichés, funny songs and silly business, but the second act really blew me away. I knew that 'Puttin' on the Ritz' was coming but I was not prepared for the crazy scene between the monster and the hermit, which sent me off into gales of laughter, and then Elizabeth's 'Deep Love' with her and the monster had me equally creased up.

So many of Brooks's jokes are so obvious, and you can see them coming a mile off, but for me that somehow makes them even funnier when they do finally arrive, like the scene with the revolving bookcase, and the Inspector's 'arm and a leg' story. It says in the programme that Brooks's humour is rooted in American vaudeville and although I don't know a lot about this genre, I thought I could detect echoes of the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy and silent film comics like Chaplin, Lloyd and Keaton. As soon as the monster started dancing with his shadow I knew exactly what was coming (and I think one of the Marx Brothers does something similar with a mirror) but the fact that I knew what would happen for me made it even more enjoyable.

All the principals were brilliant and as I had nothing to compare him with, I loved Hadley Fraser and thought he delivered all that was required of him. So full marks for the production (sets, costumes, orchestra, sound, choreography, direction, etc) and I hope it has a long and profitable run and that Mel Brooks lives long enough to see it win all the theatre awards and maybe even give us another wonderful stage show!

Now here's a funny thing. In the foyer there was a notice saying the orchestra at the matinee would be conducted by XXXX XXXX. Then, as I entered the stalls there was another notice saying something like 'At this performance the Innkeeper will be played by XXXX XXXX'. When I sat down and looked at my programme I could find no character called the Innkeeper, nor could I detect one taking part in the show. I should have gone back to see whether the name was a joke, like 'Walter Plinge', but I forgot. Does anybody know whether this was an in joke (pun intended) or was it a genuine notice?

Thanks, theatremadness, for that excellent reference – flattery will get you everywhere!

They say great minds think alike, so I guess that's us! 

The spotlight "fail" happened yesterday evening too (and we had no delays), so I definitely think it's a "thing" that's part of the show, perhaps playing on the fact that the hermit is blind and the spotlight (or God, is what I was thinking) couldn't find him!

In the original version of the musical there was an ensemble member who, among other roles, played the Innkeeper. From memory, he would have been in the first scene which no longer exists in this production. There was a song - "The Happiest Town in Town" - in which some ensemble members, including the Innkeeper, had solos.  He would now be just one of the Townspeople but the original designation might still exist as a carryover of sorts. That's the only explanation I can think of. I doubt it's a joke. It's way too subtle.

The Blucher thing is there because she's such a formidable woman - Cloris Leachman in the movie - that just hearing her name spooks the horses.  It was one of the movie's most famous running gags.

They actually thought that Blucher was German for 'glue'. And the horses were spooked everytime they heard 'glue' because it meant the glue factory...

But the writers/creators later learned they were wrong, but kept it in anyway as just a formidable and classic German surname.

So the 'gag' is because it's 'glue', even though it's factually incorrect!

Google.

Thanks mallardo and superted. Now that really appeals to my sense of humour, the fact that the Blücher/horses running gag is based on a misapprehension of the meaning of Blücher. This is taking comedy into the realms of surrealism – and I love it!

On the whole I loved this last night. Being sat in the dreaded grand circle outskirts of row D however did mean I lost a good 50-60% of the action (whilst I'd read how atrocious these were, I was hoping to pay for an upgrade at the box office but I didn't anticipate how well it had sold).

The cast were superb, and the jokes I could see/hear were charming. I'm unfamiliar with the film, but I'll certainly be finding it now I've seen the musical. I would happily go again should I win the TodayTix lottery, it was a truly campy, spooky piece of fun perfectly timed for the season.

I saw this yesterday afternoon having never seen the film and found it funny how pretty much everyone else in the audience seemed to be in a frenzy of anticipation when it came to Putting on the Ritz!

As a complete newbie to Young Frankenstein, I loved every minute of the show. I haven't heard such a buzz among the audience at the interval like there was for this since Natasha Barnes brought the house down with Don't Rain On My Parade in Funny Girl. I suspect word of mouth is going to be excellent.

There's so much attention to detail in the writing - the antics of the horses during the cart ride to the castle being a case in point. Hadley Fraser is outstanding and captures the manic edge to his character perfectly but I thought Ross Noble was quite the revelation too. This is definitely a potential hit in the making.