Frankenstein – A New Musical
The show was produced by Gerald Goehring, Douglas C. Evans, Michael F. Mitri, and David S. Stone, in association with Barbara & Emery Olcott.While adhering faithfully to the original Mary Shelley text, the creative team nonetheless took advantage of modern stage techniques to create a fluid, nonlinear story that challenged audiences to travel across vast distances and time spans while remaining in a single setting that employed projections, light and sound to paint its epic story.Preliminary efforts included a high school production and multiple staged readings for local audiences in the authors’ native New Jersey.In 2001, the team undertook a bold step to try to launch the show's professional future: a full-length video demo that was produced and directed by Jeff Jackson and titled Frankenstein, The Musical.Staged over a four-day shoot in a rented Union City, NJ theater, the production starred Tony Award®-winning actor Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma) as The Creature and featured Broadway veterans Ivan Rutherford (Les Misérables) as Victor Frankenstein and Rita Harvey (Phantom of the Opera) as Elizabeth.Shot cinematically out-of-sequence with multiple cameras and without an audience, the show was nonetheless filmed on a single stage with traditional theatrical lighting.The Associated Press praised it for “bringing the classic tale thrillingly to life,” and Bloomberg Radio hailed it as “Riveting!” and “Totally exciting!” The original cast album is available on Ghostlight Records and the play is published by Playscripts, Inc. and is currently enjoying ongoing licensed productions around the world.In addition to various US and UK productions, it has been performed in Germany, Hungary, and Latin America, having been translated into the native languages of those regions and countries.Inside his lab at the University, Victor comprises a man, approximately eight feet in height, of carefully selected limbs and organs.After escaping the burning lab, the confused Creature found his way to a cabin in the woods inhabited by an old blind man, his daughter Agatha, and her infant child.Determined to earn the love of the family, the Creature began to leave food and firewood at their door during the day and listen to them speak at night, in order to learn their language.The Creature, meanwhile, has been emotionally touched by the love Victor's family had for him, and powerfully expresses his remorse for his deeds and his hatred for the impulse that drove him to kill ("These Hands").[4] Starting on September 29, 2006, Ron Bohmer and Davis Gaines appeared in staged concerts of Frankenstein at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.[5] An off-Broadway production directed by Bill Fennelly opened at the 37 Arts Theatre on November 1, 2007, starring Hunter Foster, Steve Blanchard, and Christiane Noll.[9] The first European production took place in the United Kingdom in May 2009, playing at The Stables Theatre, Hastings, East Sussex, starring Ashley Wright and Mike Barber.The cast included Executive Producer and Musical Director Jonas Sills as Victor, Ray Buffer as the Monster, Shannon Cudd as Elizabeth, and Perry Shields as Alphonse Frankenstein.This Tour was played in the Odenwald and ended in an open-air performance in the ruins of the famous Frankenstein Castle which is said to be one of Mary Shelleys inspirations during the creation of the Book.