Hadley lands a monster role in Mel’s musical

HADLEY FRASER has signed on to play a brain surgeon with grandfather issues in the mel brooks musical young frankenstein.

fraser paused for a moment before declar -ing: ‘It’s pronounced fron-ken-shteen!’

Gene Wilder created the role of frederick frankenstein, grandson of Victor, in brooks’s very funny 1974 film based (extremely loosely) on mary shelley’s classic story.

brooks also created the stage musical version, which was presented in a huge barn of a theatre on broadway ten years ago. It was over-produced, and over -the-top, and didn’t last long at what was then known as the Hilton Theatre (it’s now the Lyric).

mercifully, brooks has substantially rewrit-ten young frankenstein. He axed five songs, and wrote two new ones. He and director susan stroman ditched the overwhelming sets; and the show , which will open at the Garrick in the West end this autumn after a brief run ‘outta town’, is now being presented more as a vaudeville piece.

fraser, who appeared in the film version of Les miserables and was sublime oppo -site Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus at the Donmar, told me young frankenstein had been ‘re -imag-ined and rewritten’.

‘It’s now a smaller and tighter opera-tion,’ he said, ‘more suited to a theatre the size of the Gar -rick, where you are able to play the comedy much more and not feel alienated from it.’

from what I’ve seen, and heard, over the past 12 months, the new young frankenstein feels funnier and fresher than the old one.

fraser is thinking of it as a completely new show, and is eager to determine just how mad his scientist can be.

‘ That’s the struggle: to see whether frankenstein can get out from under the weight of his name,’ said the actor , who last appeared on the musical stage in City of Angels at the Donmar.

In fact, before he heads off to work with madcap mel, fraser will join forces with Josie rourke, the Donmar’s artistic director , to write the book for a verbatim musical about scandal-hit charity Kids Company.

He won’t be appearing in it, though. He’ll stick behind the scenes, with rourke and composer Tom Deering, when it runs at the Donmar from June 24.

In young frankenstein, fraser will star with ross noble, Lesley Joseph, Dianne Pilking -ton, summer strallen and Patrick Clancy.

Producer michael Harrison said the musical would have a two -week run at the Theatre royal, newcastle, from A ugust 26 before immediately heading down to the Garrick , where it will run from september 28.