BWW Interviews: Young Frankenstein's CORY ENGLISH

This past year has certainly been a fun one for Cory English, the scene-stealing actor who portrays the lovably-humpbacked sidekick Igor (pronounced EYE-GOHR, mind you) in the first national tour of Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Performing the musical stage version of Brooks' cult comedy film classic across North America has been a thrilling experience for English, especially since he gets to travel with his family in tow, doing a show he absolutely gets a kick out of playing each night.

Besides serving as Dr. Frankenstein's quirky henchman (both on tour and on Broadway), English spent the early years of his career in New York City performing in such shows as A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Hello Dolly!, Damn Yankees, Guys and Dolls (with Nathan Lane), and Gypsy (with Tyne Daly). He later moved to London to study acting at Drama Studio London, where he soon met his wife, Brit actress Eva Alexander. While there, he also starred in various shows in the UK and the West End, including Chicago (as Mary Sunshine), Guys and Dolls (as Benny), and as Max Bialystock in Brooks' other musical hit The Producers. Now a year into YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, English continues to provide some hearty laughs as his funny, iconic alter-ego, which he has committed to keep playing through to 2011 when the tour ends.

Recently, while en route with his family to Costa Mesa-where the show will come to life at The Orange County Performing Arts Center for a two-week engagement starting September 12-English agreed to stop for a brief chat with BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos about life on the road, his first time on Broadway, and how much he loves musical comedy.

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BWW: Hi, Cory! So how has the past year been being on tour with YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN?

English: Well, I came over here with my family from London. My wife decided that she would take a year off from her own acting career, and my three-year-old son... well, he didn't really have a choice. So, we decided to hit the road for just a year, but we've been enjoying it so much that I've extended for another five months! So, we're going [to be on tour] until December... or, rather, January, actually. So, I've been loving it! The last time I toured the States was with Hello Dolly! 15 years ago with Carol Channing, and that was a remarkable experience. But that tour for me was more about "oh, let's see how late the bars stay open" in every city. [Laughs] But, uh, this one's a little bit different. You know, I'm trying to find playgrounds and dance classes for my son... and things like that.

Well, you know, while you're in Orange County, you'll be pretty close to Disneyland.

Oh! Great! [Laughs]

Can you talk a little bit about the highs and lows of life on tour? I know you're traveling with your family, which sounds like a rare thing for actors on a national tour, right?

Yeah, it is. And I wouldn't have done it without them. Touring life can, you know, be lonely... monotonous.... It sounds glamorous to some folks, but really, you're moving [constantly]. There was a stretch there where we did five "one-weekers" in a row, which can, you know, get a bit old. But honestly, some cities... you wouldn't want to be in for more than a week! [Laughs]

What have been some of your favorite tour stops so far?

Chicago was amazing! It was fantastic. San Francisco was awesome. Denver was great, too. Atlanta... surprised the heck outta me. The audience in Atlanta just really ate up YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. They really loved it down there in the Fox Theatre. It was like a rock concert! Oh, and Toronto... you wouldn't even know there's a recession going on. They're still partying like animals up there, and they loved the show a lot!

So, as far as reactions to the show... did it feel different doing YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN for audiences on tour versus doing the show on Broadway?

You know what? It sure is! You know, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN got a bad rap in New York, if you ask me. Of course, it had to follow [behind] The Producers which was going to be difficult. I'm sure Stephen King's second novel after his big first one wasn't as good. It was never going to live up to the hype. But YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a good show. In New York, it got such bad press that it wasn't going to do very well. So, really, on the road, we haven't found any of that. Well, in Chicago, it [felt] a little left over from the New York scene. But the rest of the country are just taking it for what it is: it's Mel Brooks comedy. They're all over it and eating it up. [On tour] it's working great. L.A. loved it! They got all of the film references, even the ones that Mel was [originally] spoofing in the 1974 film. It's fantastic! They even applauded before... I mean, in the blind hermit scene... they were just rolling [the set] on stage, and the audience was already applauding! So really, as actors in this show, all you got to do... [Laughs]... is just say all your lines and you're going to be fine! Well, okay, if you mess up your lines, you're pretty much screwed... but, really, half the work is done for you when the audience is applauding before your scene even starts! That's what's fun about doing a Mel Brooks show.

And this isn't your first Mel Brooks show!

Well, no, this is my... well, there's only been two! [Laughs] Yeah, I got to do The Producers in the West End and then toured the U.K. with it as well. I understudied for Nathan Lane [as Max Bialystock]. He went down for, like, four weeks and so I got to step in and sort of proved myself... and then a year later, they offered me the part [full time]!

So in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, as Igor, you play quite an iconic role, especially to those familiar with the original film...

...yeah, and if I'm not fast enough, the audience shouts my lines before I do! [Laughs]

I bet! So, then, how did you resolve for yourself to make the role your own?

Well, you know, I had to follow [original Igor on Broadway] Christopher Fitzgerald, which is a huge act to follow. So, there was him at first, and then there was also Marty Feldman in the movie. Obviously, you know, you have to do Marty Feldman-isms. If you don't, the audience is going to be very disappointed. So, I use a Marty accent. But, you know, I don't have eyes bulging out of my head, but I certainly do a tribute to him in the piece. But then when I have to sing and dance... well, Marty didn't have to sing and dance in the movie... so that's where I can throw in my own stuff and make the role my own. And what's really nice about the part for me is-and is probably a huge reason why I signed on for another five months-there are moments in the show where it kind of turns back to the vaudeville days, where Dr. Frankenstein and Igor can kind of riff a little bit. There are some "scripted free moments." It, as well as the audience, reminds us that it's live theater. And that's what makes it a lot of fun.

Now, do you get a lot of opportunities in the show to, maybe, improv a little bit?

Yeah, I do in those "scripted free moments" ... I call them. [Laughs] On some nights, the audience is feeling playful, and-depending on how we [in the cast] feel-the show could last a little bit longer on some nights. But, you know, you don't want to sit there for ten minutes if the audience isn't going to laugh. You sort of have to move the show along! [Laughs]

Just glancing at your long list of past show credits, you've certainly done a lot of musical comedy! Is that genre something you particularly gravitate towards more?

[Laughs] Yeah, I think so. And as I've gotten older, I'm just accepting that, yeah, comedy is my thing! [Laughs] You know, I've been watching some of these dramas on TV and I go, "God, I don't know if I can do that"... you know, 12-hour shooting days doing just a TV drama. But I am enjoying doing live comedy performance. It's instant gratification as soon as you hear the audience laugh. You know whether you did it right or not by just hearing their response. And, you know, if you don't get a laugh like you want, well, you've got another chance the next night to try and make it better... to make it fool-proof.

As you were growing up, did you know you wanted to become an actor?

Um... not really. I thought I was going to end up being a gym teacher in the end. I thought I'd try a professional sports career. I kind of knew that I would fail at that being that I'm 5' 5". I don't think my basketball career was going to go too far. [Laughs] So, I started dancing when I was 13. I was kind of naive about the whole thing. I mean, a dance teacher said to me, "you'd be a good dancer" so I said, "oh, okay." So I started dancing. And I loved it! I like the athleticism of the ballet and all that. Although, I didn't really like moving my hips too much at around 15 years old. I thought that was a bit... not so cool. But I struggled through it. And then at 18,  I thought, well, geez... I better move to New York! If I wanted to do this, that's where I should go! I moved to New York when I was 18... I didn't go to college. I went to a Broadway dance center and just kind of studied with choreographers on Broadway, and they taught me how to do it! So, as I was learning, I was also making the contacts to get jobs. That worked for me. Going to college was certainly not my boat.

So, tell me about the first time you performed on the Broadway stage!

Let's see... I had an audition for Gypsy that starred Tyne Daly. Listen, I grew up in the rural part of Rochester, New York, so I didn't see a lot of musicals. So, I didn't realize that in Gypsy, there wasn't a lot of dancing. I really wanted to dance, like on Jerome Robbin's Broadway. So, I went to the audition and I was, like, wow, there's not a lot of dancing in this, but okay... whatever... I'll do the job if I got it. And then I got the part... and now, looking back, I was glad that it was my first Broadway show because it is still my favorite Broadway show. [Pauses] Well... okay, The Producers is a close second. [Laughs] But Gypsy is just the perfect show. I got to watch Tyne Daly every night be a professional, and she was so brilliant. That's when I said, "oh, geez, I think that's what I want to do!" I wanted to become an actor after seeing Gypsy. I was so lucky. That's when I just started watching-in the wings-all these fat old character men, because I knew that that's what I was going to be one day! [Laughs]

Who, then, were your particular influences?

Growing up, I had that dance thing going on... so Baryshnikov was certainly an idol of mine. There's Robin Williams, too. I don't think I really got the acting bug until I moved to New York and saw Dick Latessa. He did a show with me, Damn Yankees, and we also worked together in ...Forum. And then after Gypsy, I worked with Nathan Lane in Guys and Dolls. Nathan's been a huge influence on me, as well as the other actors I watched from the wings, like Ernie Sabella. So, I think via osmosis, just being around these actors and being in the wings watching them, [acting] kind of just went into my body. I'm grateful for that because I think it helped me more than actual drama school and acting classes, just by being around these great actors.

Well, with that list of actors as the faculty.... it's seems like you did go to drama school!

[Laughs] Yeah! And I'm getting paid for it! It's great... getting paid for learning!

Okay, so you've now been on tour in North America with YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN for the past year, after previously living and performing in London. Tell me, are there significant differences between the two sides of the Atlantic in terms of how each deals with musical theater?

When it comes to musical comedy, there's, you know.... nothing against my Brit friends, but it's an American art form. We, um, [Laughs] do it much better! The Brits do great storytelling when it comes to the plays and even some of the other types of musicals, like the ones by Andrew Lloyd Webber. But musical comedies? Not so much. But, the La Cage Aux Folles that has come over [to Broadway], I hear that's really good. So some of those exports from London have been good. What's really fun to do... you know, the last thing I did before I came over [from London] was A Perfect Ganesh. It's a Terrence McNally play. So, I find myself doing this show in a 99-seat theater, where the audience is just right on top of you. There are loads of that over there. There are theaters like that in New York, but that kind of storytelling-that intimate storytelling-happens a lot over there, with less sets. They don't spend much money on sets, but they tell great stories. I think that's why the British are so popular right now... their TV shows, and all the other stuff that's come over from London... they know how to tell stories in a nice, simple way without too much lavish costuming and, certainly, not as much of a budget, which I'm sure the producers enjoy a little bit better.

So, once your tour-of-duty, so to speak, with YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN comes to an end, do you plan to move back to the U.K.?

Yes. [Pauses] Um... you know what? This last spell in L.A. got my wife and me thinking... maybe we'll come out to L.A. [Laughs] Yeah, it's been really nice. I've been doing theater for about 20 years now, so I thought it would be nice to mix it up a little with TV and film and maybe commercials here and there. My wife had a very good film and TV career back in London, so she could come over and do some stuff here. So, I don't know... it's a little up in the air right now. Pretty much, the way my wife and I have been doing this... I work, and then she works... and, uh, it's kind of her turn now! [Laughs] We'll see what happens. I was really quite surprised that I liked it out here, I have to say... honestly speaking. When I was last here [on tour with Carol Channing], I didn't like it as much. But this time around, I got loads of friends now that are out here from New York, because everybody's moved out here.

Well, now that Law & Order is filming over here instead of New York, there's going to be lots of work for stage actors!

[Laughs] That's right!

Okay, are there other roles in other musicals you'd maybe like to play someday?

Well. Geez, I think now I have to turn my sights on originating a part! After playing, you know, Max Bialystock... and, don't get me wrong, Igor is a fantastic part, but once you've played Max Bialystock, there's not a lot of Max Bialystock roles out there. So I think now it's time to find some new work and do something new! And it doesn't really matter how big the part is... something like a second or third lead would be fine! But I think that would be a great challenge... to start something from the beginning and put my own stamp on it. And with everything that I've learned over the years, originating something would be nice. So, yeah, let's put that out there in the universe! [Laughs]

Well, it'll be in print for the universe to work on! Alright, so we've come to my favorite portion of my Q&A. I'll ask you a few rapid-fire questions and you tell me the first thing that pops into your head. Ready?

[Laughs] Are you gonna sensor any of this?

Well, we'll see. [Laughs] Okay. I think you may have answered this earlier, but what's your favorite musical of all time?

Gypsy!

What song do you like belting in the shower or when you're all alone in the car?

[Singing]... "Una furtiva lagrima..." [Laughs] It's an Italian aria! And it's one of the only ones I know! [Laughs]

Who is the person you admire the most?

My first dance teacher, Sandy Stramonine.

What scares you the most?

Oh geez. [Pauses] Nothing at the moment! That's my final answer! [Laughs]

What is your one guilty pleasure?

[Laughs] YouTube! Should I feel guilty about that?

Not at all! What or who irritates you the most?

When people say "and I was, like..."

What instantly puts a smile on your face?

My son, Sammy... as in Sammy Davis, Jr.

Okay, I think you may have answered this earlier also, but ... if you weren't an actor, what other career do you see yourself doing?

Yeah, it's gotta be a teacher. I think I would be a gym teacher who teaches the arts.

Cool. Now, a lot of our readers are young students who hope to someday do exactly what you're doing. What is your one piece of advice you'd like to share with these young musical theater students?

Okay. Let me see if I can word this right. If someone discourages you, then you are meant to be discouraged. Does that make sense? If someone comes to discourage you, and they actually succeed in discouraging you, then you're not meant for this business. I had a teacher once say, "Oh, you guys want to be sport stars? You want to be on Broadway? Well, just forget it! You will never make it!"

Wow. Your teacher said that?

Oh, yeah! She said it! And I said, "Oh, yeah? [Laughs] We'll just see about that!" And so I didn't let that [statement] discourage me. I went for it! Oh, and another thing I say is "If you can do anything else, do it." If there's something else that you really have a passion for, then do that. [Acting] needs to be your passion, not just your hobby. I mean, okay, you can do great work and have a lot fun doing community theater... it's such a blast! And you may get to actually do a lot more roles versus being a professional actor. You could be in the outskirts of... Seattle... Iowa... and probably get to play some great parts! But in New York, you gotta go up against so many great people that you may never get the chance to play these roles. 

True. And, finally... if you were talking to someone who has never seen YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, how would you describe the show for that person?

I'd say, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a spoof on all those old horror movies... but made into a classic, American musical comedy. If they don't know the film all that well they're still going to enjoy the show. But if they don't enjoy Mel Brooks humor, then they're not going to like the show. [Laughs] But, still, if you watch the tour, you won't be disappointed, that's for sure.

Photo of Cory English as Igor in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN by Paul Kolnik.

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Performances of the 1st National Tour of Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at the Orange County Performing Arts Center continue through September 25 and are on Tuesdays – Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Tickets to see YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN start at $15 and are available online at OCPAC.org, by calling 714.556.2787 and at the Center's Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

$20 STUDENT RUSH tickets are available for students 1 hour before showtime with required valid I.D. (Cash only, strictly one ticket per student, excluding Saturday shows). For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 15 or more, call the Group Services office at 714.755.0236. The TTY number is 714.556.2746.

The 2 p.m. performance on Saturday, September 18 will be sign-language interpreted.

For more information, visit OCPAC.org. For more about the YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN tour, visit YoungFrankensteinTheMusical.com.

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