Just In Time For Halloween: A Wickedly Inspired Re-imagining of The Mel Brooks’ Comedy Masterpiece
September 15, 2022
Entr’Acte Theatrix, whose previous productions such as Into the Woods, Avenue Q, Spamalot and The Rocky Horror Show have proven to be consistently popular with young and older audiences alike. Just in time for Halloween, a new production of the Mel Brooks’ classic Young Frankenstein will be on stage from Friday, October 21st, 2022 through Sunday, October 30th, 2022 at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.
A wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend, Mel Brooks’ comedy masterpiece follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein (that’s Fronkensteen!) as he attempts to complete his grandfather’s masterwork and bring a corpse to life. Together with his oddly shaped and endearing helper Igor (that’s Eye-gor), his curvaceous lab assistant Inga and in spite of his incredibly self-involved madcap fiancé Elizabeth, Frankenstein succeeds in creating a monster — but not without scary and quite often hilarious complications.
“We have not produced a show since 2019 because of the Pandemic and I was not prepared to do so until the audience was ready to return,” says Entr’Acte Theatrix Producer and Founder, Vicki Halmos. “Fortunately, I have seen strong evidence of that in the last few months. We will be in a new venue, The Willow Theatre in Boca Raton, which is very exciting. We are fortunate to have Jeremy Quinn as our Director, who has expertise in the Mel Brooks comedic style and he will be joined by our long-standing music Director, Roger Blankenship. In addition, we will be adding Andy Morejon, from our Entr’Acte ranks, to choreograph.
“Entr’Acte Theatrix has a tradition of promoting young artists to director positions who have honed their skills working in Entr’Acte Productions specifically,” Halmos explains. “At Entr’Acte, our practice is to engage local emerging talent and give them continuing support and opportunities to polish and enhance their skills. Several of our Young Frankenstein cast members were part of the Halmos’ Palm Beach Principal Players Group several years ago and are now back with freshly minted theater degrees and looking for the on-stage experience Entr’acte provides. Our young cast is enthusiastically gearing up to be a part of what promises to be one of the outstanding productions of the coming season! We hope our South Florida audience will continue to support local theater in developing a world class body of actors and creative teams,” she concludes.
“I’m delighted to be returning to Entr’Acte for my fourth show, directing Young Frankenstein,” says Director Jeremy Quinn. “This is my first opportunity to direct a large-scale musical (in-person) after the Pandemic, so I’m incredibly grateful to Vicki Halmos and Entr’Acte for inviting me back to the table. I’ve been wanting to sink my teeth into something like this for quite some time, needless to say.
“Comedy has always been a strong suit in my 40+ year career in theater, so the opportunity to tackle one of the greatest comedic properties of all time is nothing short of thrilling!” he continues. “After directing the national tour of Old Jews Telling Jokes (before the Pandemic), I realize how much more I’ve added to my comedic canon from working with several masters of comedy in that production...and what a fitting segue to this project! Obviously, I’m a long-time fan of Mel Brooks and his unapologetic comedic style, so all the good stuff audiences remember from his movies will be on display here; including all the funny bits, nuances and innuendos.
“I can’t wait to share my joy of comedy with the Young Frankenstein cast and strengthen their knowledge/experience of what comprises good comedic timing. It’s actually somewhat mathematical and scientific when you break it down. Like I always say (even when directing a drama)... Find The Funny! It’s always there, you just have to look for it ... and right now, audiences are desperately needing it!”
Young Frankenstein’s cast includes: Kevin Cruz as Frederick Frankenstein, Chase Stante as the Monster, Greg Halmos as Igor, Nicole Roach as Inga, Ashley Gravlin as Frau Blucher, Kalli Courakos as Elizabeth and Carlo Sabusap as the Constable and the Hermit. Also cast are: Chris Calhoun, Christian Cooper, Briana Earhart, Tyler Fitch, Victoria Hocton, Nysia Matos, Andy Morejon, T.J. Pursley, Sarah Rayburn and Hannah Rosenberg.
Entr’acte Theatrix is a Non-Profit, semi-professional, showcase company providing opportunities for emerging theater artists, both on-stage and backstage. The company puts students of college or postgraduate programs on a professional trajectory with a goal of working in the profession and a chance to gain experience in their area of training or interest. Entr’acte, as the name suggests, is the “next step,” from classroom to career and provides the young theater artist with one of his or her all-important first professional resume-building credits.
Tickets for Young Frankenstein – The Mel Brooks Musical are on sale now and can be purchased online at: www.sugarsandpark.org/young-frankenstein Or by phone at: (561) 347-3948. Tickets are $20. Group rates (10 or more tickets purchased in one transaction) are $15. Performance Schedule: Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. All performances will be held at: The Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park, located at 300 South Military Trail, Boca Raton, Florida 33486.
About The Willow Theatre
The Willow Theatre, opened in 1998, is a beautiful 155-seat proscenium theater, located inside Sugar Sand Park Community Center and allows for a unique experience for theater patrons. Before or after a show, you may wander the nature trails, visit the Children’s Science Explorium, look at the art exhibit on display, or picnic at one of our pavilions.