BWW Interviews: Roger Bart: Young Frankenstein’s Dr. Frankenstein

When Mel Brooks' classic Young Frankenstein makes its way to the Fox Theatre stage in its exciting new musical form, a familiar face to fans of Brooks' previous work will be leading the way (and flipping the switches, laughing maniacally, and Puttin on the Ritz). That face belongs to Roger Bart, familiar to many for his Tony nominated role of Carmen Ghia (and later Leo Bloom) in Mel Brooks' critically acclaimed hit The Producers in addition to numerous award winning theatrical, film and television roles.  Roger sat down with me recently to talk a little about his career, working with Mel Brooks and the exciting and "Abby Normal" thrill it is to be bringing this fresh new musical to Atlanta audiences.

BWW: Roger, to start, let's talk a little about your career. I am curious, growing up, did you know you wanted to be a musical theater actor, or really an actor in general?

Roger Bart: No, not really. I always enjoyed participating in artistic endeavors and I remember in high school participating in chorus, drama and singing madrigals, mainly because they were an easy A. I loved being in plays and musicals too, but you didn't really get credit for those. In high school, I had a wonderful teacher who, coincidentally also taught Meryl Streep before me. At the same time I had my own rock band, I played bass and sang. I was one of those kids who really enjoyed being with my friends and doing rather insane, but fun creative things. I wasn't really driven to be an actor or anything, but in college I decided to study acting, much to my parents diappointment. I attended Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers where Bill Esper was and that is where I really got hooked on the art of acting, and almost the chemistry of acting.

Tell us a little bit about how you originally got involved with Young Frankenstein?

When we were in Chicago with The Producers, enjoying our time there pre-Broadway, Matthew Broderick and I were out with Mel Brooks late one evening and we were encouraging him with great humor that Young Frankenstein should be his next show. We were all on a big Producers high, and Matthew and I were laughing how we could just be part of the Mel Brooks Rep, and he was of course delighted with the idea. So, we went to New York and opened The Producers and occasionally I would mention it again to Mel, and say to him that I would love to play Igor and Mel would say he would write that with me in mind. Sure enough, about a year or so later we did a reading of it and I played Igor and it was very funny and silly and that was that. So, I was offered the role of Igor and was ready to sign my contract when I believe someone they had been pursuing didn't pan out for Dr. Frankenstein. So they thought the greatest solution casting wise would be me playing opposite Chris Fitzgerald as Igor and Sutton as Inga. I had to think about it because Igor was more typically my type of part. I am much happier with big faces, funny walks and being able to take a more absurd and grotesque role and make it true. That is where my comfort zone is. I had to consider leading this thing. It's a lot more to take on than the guy with the hunchback.

Let's talk about your character, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein. What, as an actor, do you think you bring to the role?

There are a couple physical challenges. It is a lot of talking. There is a lot of screaming involved, though maybe some people would say I scream too much, but if you go back to the movie you would hear Gene [Wilder] screaming his face off for much of it. I think that the real challenge of the part, aside from the fact that you are playing the same part as a legendary performance, is there are challenges entering the world and doing what is on the page. But beyond the very deep association with an incredibly talented guy, the real trick and challenge of the show is to carry some of the drama of what it is like to bring the dead back to life in a very true, visceral, and fun way. Because, if you go back and look at the originAl Frankenstein movies, these guys were overacting up a storm, but that is part of the genre of these movies.  I think that is what appealed to Gene Wilder originally. What is challenging is to do that on stage every night.

And, even though it is hard to believe, there may be people out there who have never heard of the show (or the original movie), how would you describe it if you were talking to those people?

I would say that if you a real fan of Mel Brooks, it is a great chance to come and see a famous work of his on stage, one that comically writes a love letter and celebrates old horror movies. If you want an evening where you come laugh your face off,  this is the show. One thing I keep hearing out here [on the road] is that people think the show is actually funnier. The show has matured in me, and I am having more fun with it than I did in New York, and now it just happens with ease. So, If you want to come, laugh for a couple hours and forget the world, this is a good show to see. Most likely, people coming to the show are not going to be talking about it for hours, but at the same time, while you are watching it you are going to have a great time.

Were you a fan of the original movie before the show?

Yes I was. I was a big fan of the movie and a huge fan of Marty Feldman. That was the most difficult thing to let go of for me because I really wanted to cross my eyes and do the Igor part.

I expect stepping into this role that Gene Wilder played so memorably on screen was exciting, but a little challenging as well? You obviously make the role your own, but did his performance influence you in any way?

Oh, yes. I mean, I would call it a loving homage. I think Nathan [Lane] rode the line as well. Many actors who are doing movie roles like this probably do. I am sure the actress in Legally Blonde had to do the same thing. Gene Wilder's lines can be very famous so when I use the phrase "Put.. the Candle... Back!"  I am definitely harkening on a very familiar line reading.

Do you ever find people people saying some of the familiar lines with you from the audience.

Occasionally, although I have never heard people say the lines, I bet if I sat out in the audience I would probably hear them. Those are really fun audiences. I think Shuler Hensley and I keep  hoping that it will turn into Rocky Horror, but I haven't seen it yet.

Having seen you perform various roles in the past you seem to be having such a great time on stage and it makes it all the more enjoyable for the audience. Is that the case? Are you having a blast up there?

I do have a really good time. I really enjoy it. Part of it is because I didn't get much attention as a kid and I enjoy having the floor. Part of it is I enjoy what I do, and I find that it is essential for us to be having a good time because it is one of those things that people say right away, "you looked like you were having a great time", and it is contagious when that happens. For me to be in a show that costs so much money to put on and with all the people who work very hard on it, I feel it is my obligation to have a good time.

Let's talk a little about working with Mel Brooks. What has that experience been like for you?

Well, he is  very dear to me so and he is very supportive of me. We have always had a good laugh and [in The Producers] he watched me rather artfdully turn Carmen Ghia, which was a pretty small role on the page, into a Tony nominated role. I was crafty saving a lot of the bits for in front of an audience. So he bacme a fan of mine, of how crafty I was, and we became very close. And then Young Frankenstein was a different animal, he was a different man having lost Anne, so he had more vulnerabilities and we went out a lot and spent a lot of time together after the show. We would go out and I would pick his brain about his life so we became very close.

So maybe he might ask you to be in his next show? Maybe High Anxiety:The Musical or History of the World?

He knows where I am! There are so many things that would translate well.

You have played a wide range of roles I nyour career. Do you prefer being funny or do you like the variety of emotions?

On stage it is a tremendous thing to be able to make people laugh. But, one of the things that I have always loved is when I am in shows where you can turn the audience upside down and make them cry or move them. That is when things are the most rewarding. There are shows out there where I have had the opportunity to say if an audience wasn't laughing very hard, "well we will make them cry and kill them with the drama at a later point", and we did. It is nice to know that will be the end of the journey that you are going to move people, and I enjoy those opportunities.

And now you have the opportunity to take this show on the road. How long have you been touring?

We have been on the road just about three months.

What are the biggest differences between performing a show like this on Broadway and performing in houses across the US? Does the audience reaction vary?

There has been some tightening up in terms of the script and transitions and but really just little cuts to tighten it up.  Other than that, I would say that out here, for those people who were huge fans of The Producers we do follow much the same path as the second album of the band Boston. That album was highly anticipated and wasn't quite like the first. So we face a little bit of that out here with Producers fans. If there hadnt been a Producers it may have been a different ride. Sometimes the show takes people by surprise out here. And with every city, local theatergoers have their own personality. Young Frankenstein is a good antidote to some of the frustrations people are having these days, and some of the fear.

Have you ever performed in Atlanta before at the Fox?

This will be my fourth fabulous time. I am on the wall three times at the Fox Theatre. I like the Fox, it is a trip playing houses like that, the warmth of them, and there is something really fun every once in a while in a 4000 seat house, they are all so different. It is the difference in standing by a wavy river and the ocean when you hear the sound. When the laughs come at the Fox it is really beautfiul.

What do you enjoy most about Young Frankenstein? What do you look forward to the most?

I look forward to making people laugh, and I hope that is not a corny response. The thing for me is the hope that my date for the evening, the audience, is going to find me charming and find the show charming and the food good and have a great time. That is really what I look forward to very much. That, and the cocktail after.

Now you yourself have played some great roles throughout your career. Are there any other roles in other shows you would like to take on someday?

You know, there are so many clown roles out there. I have such a vivid imagination of the things I would love to do that involve true, wonderful, clowning and that brings people to tears. I don't think it has been written yet, the kind of part I would like to do. I am getting a little older so there are only a few more years to be upside down and doing Buster Keaton gags, but that would be really thrilling for me.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers?

I am just glad that your readers are reading this right now. I am flattered and I am thrilled that there is still, in this world of incredible digital effects, Avatars and amazing movie making, the experience of live theatre, there is nothing like it. I am so glad that people who are reading BroadwayWorld are going to the theaters and still delight in what is the most beautiful about the ephemerality of the theater. You are in there once and it goes away and it will never be like that evening again and that is something that is so important and that I love.

Young Frankenstein will play The Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta from January 26-31, 2010, as part of the 2009-2010 Broadway Across America - Atlanta season. 

Tickets are on sale now.  Pricing starts at $18.00. Tickets can be purchased through authorized ticket sellers at The Fox Theatre Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 1-800-982-2787.  Orders for groups of 15 or more may be placed by calling 404-881-2000.      

The performance schedule for Young Frankenstein is as follows:

Tuesday, January 26                       8 p.m.
Wednesday, January 27                   8 p.m.
Thursday, January 28                      8 p.m.
Friday, January 29                          8 p.m.
Saturday, January 30                      2 p.m., 8 p.m.
Sunday, January 31                        1 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

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