YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

Date of Run: May 10-19, 2013
ROLE: Ensemble

Production photos by Eric Chazankin

Young Frankenstein was my spring show of 2013. It was again at Spreckels and virtually the same team as Forum: Gene Abravaya, director, Richard and Sandy Riccardi, music directors and Mikey Snyder, choreographer. There were even six actors from Forum, seven including Mikey: Me, Sam Starr, Matt Lindberg, Chelsea Smith, Abbey Lee and Tim Setzer (again playing the lead). This production was the North Bay premiere of this show. That was exciting.

Forum reunion, l to r: Matt, Me, Tim, Sam, Abbey, Mikey and Chelsea

Auditions for this show were in December. A couple weeks passed and I heard nothing back from Gene about being cast or not. Around New Year’s I spoke to others who had auditioned and they said that they had either been cast or notified that they were not cast. Yet, I still heard nothing for a couple more weeks after that and I just assumed I wasn’t cast. Then a little into rehearsals for Forum Gene pulled me aside and asked me if I was still interested. As it turned out, I had been cast all along, but for some reason, when Gene sent out the offers he missed me. I accepted and was cast in the ensemble.

The cast for this show, in addition to those already mentioned, included John Shillington, Denise Elia-Yen, Jeffrey Weissman, Allison Rae Baker, Mary Gannon Graham, Dwayne Stincelli, Braedyn Youngberg, Abby Chambers, Don Clancy, Samantha Connelly, Brenna Erbst, David Harris, Sidney McNulty, Antoinette Paris and Tricia Siegel.

Between the final performance of Forum the first rehearsal of this show was a full month. It was a very long month. Originally, I was supposed to do Hamlet in that time, but it got cancelled. With that gone I had nothing to do and I was dealing with such boredom. 

Before the first full cast read through, Gene had three dance rehearsals: Tuesday March 19 through Thursday March 21. We staged the first song “Happiest Town in Town” on Tuesday. I couldn’t be there on Wednesday because I was auditioning for Evita at the Raven Players in Healdsburg. On Thursday we did “Transylvania Mania” for three hours. The steps were very hard and it was quite the workout; we were all sweating hard by the end of this rehearsal. I began thinking Mikey was a sadist. This dance became a little less exhausting after each rehearsal, though once we added in the singing we were slammed down again.

For a few rehearsals we continued to do the dancing, especially “Transylvania Mania.” In fact, now that I think about it, we did that dance at every rehearsal at least once. On the third day of rehearsals we started the choreography for “Join the Family Business.” The dancing for this song was difficult enough, but one move I had to do was a move you might see from a Russian dancer where you squat, stick one leg out the side and repeat. When Mikey asked if anyone could do it or would be willing to do it, I said I would. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but before I got used to it, it was murder on my thighs, especially after doing it over and over; it even started hurting only minutes after we started resting. I definitely thought Mikey was a sadist during this.

 

In all there were five big dance numbers in this show: “Happiest Town in Town,” “Please Don’t Touch Me,” “Join the Family Business,” “Transylvania Mania,” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” I was only in the second half of “Happiest Town.” I was not in “Please Don’t Touch Me” because of a lengthy costume change I had to do, and I would not be able to change in and out quickly enough. At first, I dreaded having to do “Puttin’ on the Ritz” because it meant I would have to tap dance, which I did not know how to do. The first time I tried it was at an audition for another show. It was harder than I ever imagined it would be and I sweated more from that than I ever did from “Transylvania Mania.” Weeks into rehearsal I learned I would not have to do that dance (Lucky me!).

Coincidentally in the two songs that required partners, "Family Business" and "Mania," I was partnered with Abby Chambers. I think it's coincidence because I never noticed nor even looked to see if anyone else was partnered with the same people.

 

About a week into rehearsals, we began learning the music. At first Sandy tried to have me sing the tenor part, but after trying to learn only the first song, I thought “Uh-uh.” I was not about to repeat the experiences I had in Reefer Madness where my throat hurt after every rehearsal. It was too much of a strain. My vocal teacher/coach at the time, Christopher Trujillo, took one look at the music for the tenor part and advised me empathically not to do it. I would try to apply the techniques I learned from Chris while learning the score and I truly believe it helped me. Sandy was more present than Richard this time, most likely because more ensemble singing, of which there was not much in Forum.

 

In the opening scene I was cast as the Herald or town crier. I know for a fact I was supposed to be a villager, specifically the baker. Fitting I think since I am very well known for my cooking and baking. I don’t know why they changed it, but they must have had their reasons. Being the Herald meant I had to start the show. My first line was sung, and it was “Make way! Make Way!” It was at the E above middle C and briefly touched the F, which made me nervous. I went over it with Chris, and he advised me on what vowel sounds to use. After a couple times I was able to do it. Immediately after that my first spoken line was “Make way for the funeral procession of Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. Maker of Monsters.” I projected the hell out of that line. Though I would have a microphone, I felt for this particular moment I wouldn’t need one.

My next big moment was in the second scene during “The Brain.” I did not have to sing or even speak. I was Mr. Hilltop, the man who gets kneed in the groin. I would be brought on the stage lying on a gurney pushed by Antoinette and Matt. It was fun making the exaggerated “hopping” off the gurney (though no one ever laughed at it) and then crossing my eyes and making the moan in pain when Tim got me (when I made the sound, people did laugh). The moment before I came on stage was my favorite in the show because I would get to lie down and rest for a moment before the cue came to push me on.

"Why you mother grabbing bastard!"

After that I had a break in which I would change into my Nazi costume for the train scene. Sam wanted to be the Nazi desperately, but Gene assigned it to me. It was a long piece by piece change into a costume for a moment onstage that lasted probably ten seconds, if even that, but the costume designer, Pam Enz, said it was her favorite part because it looked perfect. What that says about her, I don't know. After this I had to change into my horse costume, which meant putting on my clothes for “Family Business” then sliding into a paint suit and putting on a horse’s head. 

“Surprise” was the hardest song. Or at least it was supposed to be. The song is a jazz number and written with Elizabeth (Denise) as the lead singer, Frau Blucher (Mary) and Igor (Jeffrey) singing on the side, and a five member entourage singing in five part harmony. Due to the short amount of rehearsal time before the run, Sandy had everyone in the entourage sing Elizabeth’s part. The entourage consisted of Don, Sydney, Tricia, Antoinette and me. I was Bob, the astrologer. Mikey had Don and me lift Denise up in a square lift and spin around during part of it. Before that there was a moment where I would be on all fours with Denise sitting on top of me with everyone else around her. Originally the song was supposed to end with her fainting (trust falling) into my arms, but it was changed to where she fainted center stage. I think she was scared of the trust fall. Due to all the moving around the entourage did onstage, Sandy had everyone else in the ensemble sing the song in the pit.



As Bob, the astrologer. "Your moon is in Venus. So don't despair, love is in the air." With Denise as Elizabeth



The set pieces were enormous. We first used them in a designer run in late April. Even on a stage as big as the one at Spreckels, it was going to be tough due to the little wing space. After that first day, we’d have five days to tighten the scene changes. There were pieces that were only used once in the first act, but some couldn’t be moved out of the way until intermission because they were on stage left and the big holding area was stage right. My first thought was “Oh no, I hope it’s not going to be The Elephant Man all over again.” That first night several pieces broke for one reason or another, not to mention several needed to have locks fixed or added because it was scary when pieces slid onstage. Once we got some stagehands it became smoother, but some of the actors still had to help.

 

When cue to cue came, they would not give me the shifts I asked for at work and as a result I missed more than half of it. I spent two days trying to get them to change it, but they wouldn’t budge. The first day I worked 8-4. It was a rough day and when I got to rehearsal they had moved past “Family Business,” which was where I had a break in the show. Everyone was elsewhere so I sat in the lobby for a bit, reading. But I was so angry and frustrated at what had happened. So much so that after a few moments I locked myself in a closet in one of the rooms that wasn’t being used and I cried. I needed that release. On the second day I worked from 8-2 and when I got to rehearsal, they had just come back from lunch break and were running the scene transitions. I felt it very useful; It reminded me of when I did The Elephant Man, which certainly could’ve used a full rehearsal running the set changes.

 

As we entered the final stretch before opening, we ran into small problems here and there, mostly due to the addition of new things. The notes afterward were insufferable because after Gene, Sandy and Richard gave their notes, people voiced problems and concerns (some petty and some that didn’t really need to be brought up). Worse, at times people would start talking and joking about a note and that added unnecessary time. It was usually 11:30 by the time I got home. And I lived right in town! I couldn’t wait until opening when there would be no more of that.

 

One of the highlights of tech week for everyone was having a dog in the pit. One of the keyboard players brought his little dog with him and it sat on his lap or lay on the floor next to him while he played. It was adorable.

 

The night before we opened disaster struck during “Family Business.” Toward the end of the song, we were to be in two lines in a V-shape behind Tim and Dwayne as they passed between the lines, first facing stage left and then turning around as they went by. That night however as I turned around, for some reason my leg stuck out and Dwayne tripped over it, slammed into Tim and fell. It all happened so fast I have no idea why it happened or what it was that I did wrong, but it was my fault. Not all on stage saw it; For example, the person behind me in our line didn't because she was shorter than I am she didn’t see past me. Those that did see it however were in horror and thrown off for a moment. Dwayne was apparently fine and he joked about it after since he had a great sense of humor, but I felt so guilty. Gene apparently didn’t see it because he was writing notes. Since that moment I made sure to be very wary at that moment and not to turn until Dwayne was fully past me. Unfortunately, that was the night that a taping of the show was made, and it appears on the DVD we could purchase later.

I had eight costume changes in this show and played seven different roles. In the first act I began as the Herald then changed to a villager (just changing an outer garment and adding a hat) then Mr. Hilltop, then a Nazi, then a horse, then a mad scientist (already under my horse costume) then back to a villager. In the second act I began as a villager then changed into Bob, the astrologer and back to a villager. No photo of me as the Herald exists.

My costumes, in order: villager, Mr. Hilltop, horse, ancestor, Bob the Astrologer. Photo of me as the Nazi not included.

Opening night was a huge success because we had 250+ in the audience and they stood and cheered at the end. At the beginning as I stood offstage left with everyone else, waiting for my cue I was so nervous since I had to start the show, but I did it! When the show ended, the curtain closed and the cast jumped up and down, even dancing with each other in celebration.

On opening night Sandy surprised us with something special. She knew Shuler Hensley, the original Monster on Broadway. He sent us autographed flyers of the Broadway production as well as a personalized note, which Sandy copied and gave to all of us. He made a separate one for Braedyn (the Monster), this was ours.

It was positively thrilling.

This was the first time I ever did two shows on a Saturday. My schedule went like this: I would end the matinee and spend 15-30 minutes talking to friends (though they only came the first weekend), then I would go home, wash my hair so I could restyle it, eat a meal, rest, come back and get ready for the second show. Gene bought pizza for us on the second Saturday between shows. I also removed and reapplied my make-up because I felt it was messy after a show and I wanted to look my best.

 

The first Saturday matinee was fine, but the Saturday evening was even larger than opening night was, maybe reaching over 400 people. This audience was also more responsive than opening night. Quite unexpectedly, the next day (Mother’s Day) we had an audience that was more or less the same size as Saturday night. Quite unusual for any ordinary matinee let alone on Mother’s Day. I know it was a holiday and people take their mothers out, but a show with numerous sexual innuendos and jokes somehow doesn't come to mind as the place you would take your mother. They were not as responsive as the previous night, but we didn’t care. The only damper was that I had work right after that performance. All in all, it was a successful opening weekend, though I paid a heavy price for it.

On Saturday night after the second show at midnight Sam Starr rounded up a few in the cast and crew including me, Abby, Matt, Braedyn, and Sidney to go to Sonoma State to “pillage” the campus. In those days, at the end of every school year, students would throw out tons of clothes and appliances and put them in the laundry rooms, more so in the upper-class dorms. We all went around midnight to see what we could find. We all walked away with a few goodies. I almost didn’t go because I felt a bit uneasy toward the end of the show, but it was a fun night. I did not get home from that adventure until around three in the morning. I slept until eleven the next day, but it wasn’t enough. This, coupled with working on the busiest day of the year at my job, drained every ounce of energy I had. After the first weekend it took me two days to fully recover.

 

We received universal praise from critics and audience members alike, many saying we “raised the bar” for Spreckels and North Bay musicals and theatre. One review however, stated some problems with the show including the orchestra being off-key at times, pitch problems with the ensemble cast and some dance numbers being uneven. Guess you can't please everyone.

Then the second weekend came. Thursday was a big audience that stood and had many bows. On Friday the audience was bigger, and it also stood. This night was one of my better nights as the Herald. The Saturday matinee audience was small and unresponsive, even more than the previous Saturday matinee. The evening performance, however, was probably our most responsive yet and huge; most of the lower level was full and quite a few were in the upper level. It was only marred by the fact that there was no one I knew in the lobby afterward. Sunday was possibly our biggest audience of all. I'm sure there were very few seats in the lower level and more in the upper level than there had been. My parents were there, and it was possibly my best show as the Herald.

 

Though there were several moments the audience ate up every time such as Allison's yodeling during "Roll in the Hay," there was one moment in the show which never failed to elicit cheers from the audience even the unresponsive ones. And that was Mary’s performance of “He Vas My Boyfriend.” Her raunchy, powerfully voiced rendition of the song brought down the house every single performance. And I mean every performance. And when she came out for her bow, she always seemed to get the biggest applause.

 

I wish I could say that the show was a joyous experience, and it was at the beginning, but as time went on, I slowly began to suspect something was wrong. By the time the run started I realized there was. I felt like most of the younger cast members (I’ll say 30 or under) had issues with me. Over the rehearsal period I made comments which Matt called “backhanded.” I think I upset some of them by saying things that they interpreted the wrong way, though I stand by a lot of what I said, and I also said things that I meant as a compliment, but how I delivered it made moments a bit awkward. But some of them got upset because they disagreed with me.

To begin with, I simply did not think Jeffrey was right for his role (Igor). If it was a straight play, maybe, but he simply did not have the musical in his bones. Whenever he moved about the stage during his songs he did not seem to watch where he was going. While the show was in rehearsal the stage apron, which lowered to below the stage into the orchestra pit, was up and one night I saw his walk over it while he was singing. If it were a show, it wouldn't have been there, something that we needed to pretend. Not only that, but he often seemed to be off tempo with the music. I could see John discreetly moving his hands conducting him trying to help him keep tempo. Whenever I made any mention of these things, the only counter argument anyone could give me was "But he's so nice!" O...K?

Abby Chambers, in particular, had issues with comments I made about a show that she was one in that I had seen some months before. I told her exactly what I thought of it. I thought the two leads in that show were not very good, in their own way, and that was the only issue I had. And she just about threw a fit over it, mostly because they were her friends, and she didn't agree with me. God forbid there be even a little criticism in one of her shows.

I think I was just too honest in my remarks for them to handle and that I stepped on their egos, especially Abby Chambers. I’ve never felt very popular in a few casts of shows that I’ve done and there have been casts that I’ve never connected with, but this one hurt, though I don't know why. Perhaps it never hurt before because I did nothing to intentionally cause trouble. I’ve always thought that if I showed up, did my job and put all I could into my performance that would be enough. Maybe I was wrong, but I think I coexisted more peacefully with previous casts because I usually didn’t say anything to them. In this show I was also never invited or informed if the cast were going out or hanging out after rehearsal.

To make matters worse, I got on Gene’s bad side. Gene rarely ever got mad at anyone, unless they did something really bad, so I really messed up if I made him mad. In my Mr. Hilltop moment, I deliberately disobeyed a direction from him.  He wanted me to get off the gurney a certain way that was unlike the movie and more like how it was on a bootleg recording of the Broadway production. I was afraid it wouldn’t get any laughs. So, I did it the way it was done in the movie. Call me naïve, but I hoped my way would be funnier. Looking back now, I'm ashamed I did that. I did this until the second Saturday. That day Gene made it a point to come into the dressing room saying, in a very stern tone, it bothered him that I wasn’t doing what he asked me. In an effort to make peace I did it his way. It didn’t get laughs either. Tim said that he thinks it was because his next line “Nice hopping,” was the funny punch-line to clarify for the audience what I was doing; he was probably right. After that I decided to back away and not to audition for Gene's shows, at least for a while, in an effort to give him space and to let time heal all wounds.

Because of all this I couldn’t wait for the run to end, even though I could’ve easily done another weekend. I was literally counting down the minutes saying, "Just one more day, just one more day." It was making me very uncomfortable to feel like I was upsetting other people and ending the show put me out of my misery. It really helped to ruin the experience for me. It made me not want to talk to anyone in the cast of my next show.

About a year later we were nominated at the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards and we won six awards for Best Ensemble, Best Choreography, Best Musical Direction, Best Feature Female (Mary), Best Principal Female (Denise), and Best Production.

This was possibly the most successful show that I had done up to then. Except for the Saturday matinees we got standing ovations after every performance. Complete euphoria. I’m glad to have done it, despite the turn for the worse. Looking back I’m glad that the production of Hamlet fell apart so I could do this show without any problems.