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Trumbull New Theatre is puttin' on "Young Frankenstein" to open its 2023-24 season.
"It's one of those big comedy musicals that I usually shy away from," director Liz Conrad said. "But I absolutely adore Mel Brooks and 'Young Frankenstein,' the original movie, is my favorite movie of all time. I fell in love with the music and wanted to find a space to direct it. TNT was, 'Sure, you could do that here.' It's a bigger musical than the space is used to. With the set, myself, Ron Aulet and Brett Bunker have taken the space to another level."
The process began with analyzing the scenes and the set changes and figuring how to make them happen in a theater without a fly system that allows them to lower backdrops and set pieces from the ceiling.
"It's a beautiful space, but limited in how we can make these things happen with theater magic," Conrad said. "The set transforms for different scenes, it opens and closes."
She also credited the lighting design of Ellen Licitra for adding to the look of the production.
"Young Frankenstein," originally created for the screen in 1974 as a spoof of the original 1931 horror classic "Frankenstein," is the second musical created by Mel Brooks from one of his films. It ran for 14 months on Broadway and received three Tony Awards, but that paled in comparison to his first musical, "The Producers," which ran for six years and holds the record for the musical production with the most Tony wins (12 out of 15 nominations).
The massive success of "The Producers" may have had critics judging "Young Frankenstein" by a higher -- and harsher -- standard.
"I think it's a very smart musical," Conrad said. "Some of the songs are very wordy. If you don't pay attention you'll miss the joke … It plays into the funny a lot more, and it's more audience friendly."
It's also a popular show with performers.
"Oh my gosh, we had so many audition," Conrad said. "It was difficult to wind it down to the size of the cast I have. I still have about 30 people. It was a challenge, but a welcome challenge. I'm still doing cartwheels over the cast I got."
The cast features Paul Dahman, Emelia Sherin, Ronald E. Aulet, Rachael Conrad, Cat Smith, Harmon Andrews, Kaleb Lovewell McFarland, Steve Brown, McKenna Lago, Trudi Herrholtz, H Keith Bowers, Katara Brown, Craig Conrad, Tyler Moliterno, Nate Chapline, Nina Dellinger Miller, Kadence Papantonakis, Brett Bunker, Rebecca Cevetto, Jessica Ludovici, Kaitlyn Shaffer, Cadence Triech, Aleecia Postlewait, Dana Brown and Flynn Bunker.
Rosie Bresson is music director, Aulet also is assistant director and Robbie Cole is stage manager.
"Young Frankenstein" may be a big show, but Conrad said she is approaching her work with the cast no differently than if it were a smaller drama or comedy.
"I'm a student of all different theatrical genre, and I love directing comedies because of the honesty in comedy," she said. "You have to play every character, every scene as honestly as you can or it's not really funny."
If you go …
WHAT: "Young Frankenstein"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 24
WHERE: Trumbull New Theatre, 5883 Youngstown Warren Road, Niles
HOW MUCH: Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for students and are available online at trumbull newtheatre.tix.com and by calling the TNT box office between 7 and 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 330-652-1103.