REVIEW:
'Frankenstein'
Meadow Brook Theatre, on the campus of Oakland University, Rochester. Wed.-Sun., through Nov. 5. Tickets: $22-$38. For information: 248-377-3300 or http://www.mbtheatre.com
There's nothing wrong with scientists being passionate about their work. But what if that passion involves trying to create life out of death – and the scientist succeeds? What responsibility, then, does that scientist have towards both society and his creation? And what happens if he shirks that obligation?
Those are the heavy questions director David L. Regal explores in his new adaptation of "Frankenstein" that opened last weekend at Meadow Brook Theatre. And unlike the various "Frankenstein" movies we've all enjoyed over the past several decades, the story's TRUE monster might surprise you!
That's because Regal, who rejected all of the currently-available scripts before deciding to write his own, sticks close to author Mary Shelley's vision. As such, this is not the typical monster-on-a-rampage story we've been fed by Hollywood. Rather, Regal offers us a philosophical treatise about the nature of evil, as seen through the eyes of a god-like creator and his repulsive creation.
While away at school, an ambitious Victor Frankenstein combines the newly discovered sciences of the Industrial Revolution with the ancient practices of alchemy to create new life out of body parts he snitched from a local morgue. Frightened by its looks and incredible strength, Victor rejects his progeny, leaving it to find its own way in the world.
And what a cold, cruel world the creature discovers. For despite its desire to find a mate and experience life at its fullest, the inhumane treatment it's subjected to and its father's repeated rejections fuel its urge for revenge. And it's the innocent who pay the ultimate price for Victor's folly.
Regal, using dialogue taken directly from the 1818 novel, has done an admiral job condensing most of Shelley's major plot threads into a sensible two-hour production. The result, though, is a fast-paced, plot-driven script that allows little time for character development. As such, the audience doesn't invest much emotional capital in the show. So rather than elicit feelings of shock or sadness when certain characters are murdered, we feel little or nothing in our souls; their deaths have little impact on us.
A powerful performance, however, is given by Robert Kennard Murphy who allows us to watch the creature grow from an inquisitive newborn to a heartless killer, only to become a remorseful child in the final moments of the play.
