Sunday, October 23, 2005

Frankenstein

Northwest Children’s Theater
October 22, 2005; closes October 30, 2005

Hot goth-rock sound by Rodolfo Ortega; sexy bodice-ripping costumes by DeeDee Remington; and general charge of electricity gave this monster an almost Buffy-esque sense of tongue-in-chic thriller. Performances suffered a little gangrene, but at heart what was missing was a pacemaker. Slight-of-hand staging could’ve covered laborious scene changes. Wicked lightning.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Followspot, What did you think of Matt Haynes performance as the creature? I heard he does a fine job. I plan to see it this weekend to find out for myself.

Anonymous said...

he was amazing-- everyone was amazing. top notch show from the childrens theater

followspot said...

Anonymous 3:21: I've already posted my 50-word allotment; after you've seen it this weekend, come back and tell us what you think of not only Matt, but the whole show.

Anonymous said...

I'm a huge fan of the novel, but not of this adaptation. Overall, the play seemed awfully edgey for a children's theater! The technical elements were all impressive, beautiful set, costumes, etc, and very fun effects, however, most of the performers didn't quite live up. Maybe it was the extreme melodrama that irritated me. Matt Haynes was great, but his performance wasn't enough to keep me interested throughout.

Anonymous said...

I think I would have liked to have seen a version that seriously explored the implications of the show. Which doesn't mean it can't be scary - both the situation and the implications are scary - I was just a little disapopinted to see the monster be the comic relief. The whole idea that - shit, I've created another life and I should be responsible for it -- I mean, that alone should be a sobering message for kids, underneath the fright-night trappings. And in that regard, the more edgy, the more effective, perhaps.

Anonymous said...

Mmm-- it's "sleight" of hand.

Anonymous said...

maybe it's a pun