I guess it’s only natural that the Paramount would want to stage a pre-Broadway show since its crosstown rival, Fifth Avenue, did so well with the show “Hairspray” a few years back. In fact, “Hairspray” not only went on to the Great White Way, receiving a few statues along the way; it is now a hit movie starring John Travolta and Queen Latifah.

So Paramount is set to stage a Broadway-bound version of one of the oddest movies ever to be recorded on plastic strips. The show is based on the marginally funny, yet cult classic 1974 film “Young Frankenstein” by Mel Brooks.

This musical comedy retelling of the Mary Shelley story takes on a whole new world of random thoughts and one-liners. The play follows the life of Frederick Frankenstein, an esteemed New York brain surgeon and professor who inherits a castle and laboratory in Transylvania from his grandfather. The deranged genius Victor von Frankenstein was a bit odd to say the least. But now Frederick faces a dilemma.  He could either continue to avoid his family’s legacy and live out his life in New York, or he could try to reconnect with his heritage.

Opting for plan A would make for a very short play, so he opts for plan B and heads off to Transylvania to carry on his grandfather’s mad experiments of reanimating the dead and, in the process, falls in love with his sexy lab assistant, Inga.

Roger Bart plays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein; Megan Mullally plays Elizabeth; Sutton Foster plays Inga; Shuler Hensley plays the awkward Monster, and Christopher Fitzgerald plays the sidekick Igor.

The staging of this show in Seattle marks the world premiere engagement of the production. And many Emerald City bars are set to create their own signature “monster” drinks just for the occasion.

The show has all of the pedigree of a Tony winner. The show’s creative team has tons of street cred in the theater world. Brooks has won three Tonys and did the music, book and lyrics for this show, which is based on his film that garnered two Academy Award nominations.

The set, staging and choreography direction all have awards connected to them, creating one of those “I saw it in Seattle” moments you can talk about years from now when the show is playing on Broadway.

Director Susan Stroman, for example, also directed and choreographed a little show called “The Producers,” a winner of a record-making 12 Tony Awards including Best Direction and Best Choreography. Most recently she directed and choreographed “The Producers: The Movie Musical,” which was nominated for four Golden Globes.

I don’t know what to think of the show. I didn’t get the movie — as if there was anything to “get.” It was what it was, so it just seems odd that someone would want to stage a theatrical version of such a show. It seems as if the plans for a musical version of “Weekend at Bernie’s” were tied up in litigation so they had to stage something and this was all that was available. Anyway, “Young Frankenstein” will most certainly become a hit on Broadway in terms of ticket sales, and it might even find its way through the Northwest as a revival show followed by a remake of the movie in a few years. See it now and you’ll be able to say you were there when. 
The show runs through August with tickets available at www.theparamount.com.