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‘Hard to keep a straight face’ during ‘Young Frankenstein’

Photo by Cindy Votruba The Southwest Minnesota State University Theater Department is presenting the musical version of “Young Frankenstein,” which opens today in the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre.

MARSHALL — When it was announced that the Southwest Minnesota State University Theater Department was doing “Young Frankenstein” as the first show of the 2018-2019 season, the students were excited.

“Whether it be stagehand or cast, I wanted to be a part of it,” said SMSU student Brady Berg.

The Southwest Minnesota State University Theater Department is presenting the musical “Young Frankenstein” at 7:30 today-Saturday, and Nov. 1-3, and 2 p.m. Nov. 4, at the SMSU Fine Arts Theatre. The show is being directed by SMSU theater professor Mike Lenz.

The show is based on Mel Brooks’ film from 1974. According to an SMSU news release, the musical’s synopsis is: “serious medical doctor Frederick Frankenstein tries to distance himself from his infamous grandfather and namesake monster, but after Frederick inherits the family estate in Transylvania, the lure of the mad scientist’s laboratory is too strong to resist. With the help of the hunchbacked Igor and yodeling lab assistant Inga, Frederick creates a monster of his own.”

Raxson Rax portrays Frederick. He said he was familiar with the show before getting the part.

“It’s loaded with jokes that hit every time we do them,” Rax said. “It’s hard to keep a straight face in those moments.”

Rax said his character, Frederick, loves science.

“Whenever he is on the brink of a scientific breakthrough, he’s extremely excited,” Rax said.

Frederick loves women as well, Rax said.

“Unfortunately his mind thinks of science before women,” he said.

Rax said it’s a “different sort of experience” playing the title role. He said he has way more lines to memorize than in previous roles.

Allie Lamote, who plays Inga, Frederick’s lab assistant, also said her role is different than what she’s used to portraying.

“But as we got more into the rehearsal process, I fell in love with this character,” Lamote said. “This is provably my favorite show that I’ve ever done.”

For her role, Lamote had to learn how to yodel for one of the show’s songs. She said she listened to the song on repeat every day.

“But I finally got it,” she said.

Like Berg, Danny McDonnell, who portrays Igor, was also excited when “Young Frankenstein” was announced as a mainstage show.

“I grew up watching Mel Brooks’ movies,” he said.

Elizabeth Zoya, who plays Blücher, didn’t know “Young Frankenstein” was also a musical. She remembers when she was 13 years old and her father had the family view the movie for Halloween.

“It was one of his favorites,” Zoya said. She said being involved with the SMSU production has brought back childhood memories of watching the movie.

Cast members said “Young Frankenstein” is hilarious. McDonnell said there’s just a lot of character development in the show as well.

“The humor is just so blunt,” Berg said. “It has something special to it.”

“The music is great, it’s very Broadway,” Rax said.

Lenz said the musical version of the show expands on some parts of the movie. For example, it tells a lot more of Inga’s story. Plus the female characters have a lot more of a voice in the musical, the cast members said.

Zoya describes Frau Blücher as suspenseful and “manipulative in a way”

“I was excited to portray this character in my own kind of way and bring her to life,” Zoya said. She said she had forgotten what the character was like, so she watched the musical online.

Berg plays four different roles, including Victor Frankenstein, Frederick’s grandfather.

“It’s a lot of fun going from part to part,” Berg said.

And as the cast members look forward to opening night, they said they’ve enjoyed bringing the Mel Brooks’ classic to the stage.

“This show is just a blast,” Lamote said. She said it’s also nice to act with some of the people she shared the stage with in “Into the Woods,” a collaborative production with SMSU and Marshall High School a couple of years ago.

Berg describes “Young Frankenstein” as a “tamer ‘Blazing Saddles.'”

“If you want to have a good time, this is a show you want to invest time in,” he said.

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