"Young Frankenstein" is in Providence

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The cast and crew of  " The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein" are in Providence right now preparing to open the first national tour.

It opens at the Providence Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, September 29th and runs through October 4th. This Saturday, you can get a sneak peak behind the scenes in "Young Frankenstein,The PPAC Premiere." This special presentation is being broadcast in high-definition on WPRI-12 at 7:30pm.

WPRI-12 Anchor Karen Adams and Photographer Scott Delsole recently traveled to New York city to see the cast in rehearsals. Director and Choreographer Susan Stroman is once again calling the shots, as she did with Young Frankenstein on Broadway.

Stroman says, "What's been wonderful is to revisit the show. I love to do that. I've been very fortunate to have shows run on Broadway and then they have a national tour and it gives me a chance to go back at them and not have to worry about costumes and actually, really deal with the actors and not have to worry about costumes and sets and lighting because I've already done that. So, this time there's so much attention given to performance and I love the opportunity to have a second chance at any show. In fact, I couldn't wait to go back to it."

Several of the Broadway stars are performing in the national tour including Roger Bart as Frederick Frankenstein, Shuler Hensley as the monster and Cory English as Igor.

Bart says, "I love doing it because there's nothing like being in the world of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder. It suits me and my very particular and peculiar set of skills."

Bart also tells us that he has a special connection to New England, because his family used to vacation on Martha's Vineyard. He said he always knew they were getting close when they got to Providence and could start to smell the ocean.

Prestige for Providence

Opening a national tour not only brings prestige to the Providence Performing Arts Center, it's also an economic boost for the city and the state.

"It raises our profile in the touring broadway community", said Lynn Singleton, President of the Providence Performing Arts Center.

" We're doing the production first before any of the national cities, but at the same time, it's very good for the local economy. For the weeks prior, the entire company, tech people and artistic people will come spend time in the hotels, eat in the restaurants and create buzz and excitement in the city."

If you want to learn more about the production and hear from writer/producer Mel Brooks be sure to tune in for "Young Frankenstein, The PPAC Premiere". It's this Saturday, September 26 at 7:30pm on WPRI-12.

For show and ticket information check out the PPAC website.