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After spending months rehearsing and preparing, sophomore Jacob Shoemaker nervously waited for the opening night of Young Frankenstein to begin.
“If you mess up everyone will know you messed up; then you’ll be very self-conscious. You have lots of friends there, and if you mess up, they’ll tell you that you did great anyway. Everyone is actually really supportive about it,” Shoemaker said.
Shoemaker played Victor Von Frankenstein and Bob in this spring’s production Young Frankenstein March 14, 15 and 16. The musical, based on the Mel Brook’s movie Young Frankenstein, tells the story of a young brain surgeon who inherits a castle from his grandfather, Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. He discovers a book filled with his grandfather’s experiments and theories, and believing they might work, sets out to recreate them.
Choreographer Resi Dolbee said that the association with the movie and the Broadway play made Young Frankenstien an attractive option.
“Young Frankenstein is a favorite movie of many folks, especially for older folks,” Dolbee said. “We’ve wanted to do something very different for a while now. The show just came off Broadway, so it’s relatively new to the stage.”
Involvment in the musical was not limited to just the theater department. Many of the set designs were painted by members of the Art Club, including sophomore Alex Ginn.
“Everyone had their own little part to paint,” Ginn said. “Everyone put a lot of effort into making it happen.”
Director Kelly Cooper said a lot of work went into creating a good production.
“You want to have a good production, and you have to be a perfectionist to make sure everything goes as planned,” Cooper said. “A lot of people came to help me.”
Cooper said that watching the production was a great experience. “There’s nothing like seeing a play and being an audience member,” Cooper said. “There’s just a unique connection between the cast and the audience.”
By Natalya Lunsford, feature writer
