Will Roger Bart and Christopher Fitzgerald Star in Brooks' Young Frankenstein?
By Andrew Gans
and Zachary Pincus-Roth
17 May 2007
 |
 |
Roger Bart
|
| photo by Aubrey Reuben | It looks likely that Roger Bart and Christopher Fitzgerald will star in the eagerly awaited new Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein.
Variety reports that "word on the Rialto" is Bart will play Dr. Frankenstein with Fitzgerald as Igor. There has been no official announcement of the casting.
As previously reported, Young Frankenstein will have a pre-Broadway tryout this summer in Seattle. The Brooks-Thomas Meehan musical will play an Aug. 4-Sept. 1 stint at Seattle's Paramount Theatre.
Young Frankenstein, based on Brooks' 1974 film, has a score by Brooks, a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman — the same team that turned The Producers into Tony gold.
The design team comprises Robin Wagner (set design), William Ivey Long (costume design) and Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design). All three also designed The Producers.
The likely stars of Young Frankenstein are Tony Award winners Shuler Hensley (in the role of the monster, played by Peter Boyle in the film) and Sutton Foster (Inga, the Teri Garr role), along with the former "Will & Grace" star Megan Mullally (Elizabeth, the Madeline Kahn role).
Frankenstein is aiming for a Halloween opening on Broadway. A theatre has not been announced, although the likely suspect is the Hilton Theatre now that Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! – The Musical is planning a November 2007-January 2008 engagement at the St. James Theatre, where Frankenstein had originally been scheduled. Like the casting, there has been no official announcement of the theatre.
Roger Bart was nominated for a Tony Award for his work in The Producers; he won his Tony for his role as Snoopy in the Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Bart's other Broadway credits include The Frogs, Triumph of Love, King David and Big River. On screen the actor has been seen in "Desperate Housewives," "The Stepford Wives," "Bram and Alice" and "The Insider." He has also lent his voice to the animated films "Hercules" and "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure."
Christopher Fitzgerald, recently seen in the Encores! presentation of Stairway to Paradise, created the role of Boq in Broadway's Wicked. He received a Drama Desk nomination for his work in Broadway's Amour, and his Off-Broadway credits include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Fully Committed, Saturday Night, Wise Guys, Corpus Christi and The Cripple of Inishmaan. He was also seen in the City Center Encores! production of Babes in Arms. Fitzgerald spent eight season at Williamstown, and his film credits include "The Boiler Room," "Fresh Cut Grass" and "Personal Velocity."
Contact Us | Advertise | Privacy Policy
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2008 Playbill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|