Review: FRANKENSTEIN...THE BIRTH OF HORROR at Phantasmagoria

It is officially spooky season here in central Florida. So, in addition to nights of horror and parties with a beloved mouse, there are also a lot of seasonal shows happening in the area. I had the opportunity to attend an invited dress rehearsal of one of them. Last night, I attended Phantasmagoria’s Frankenstein…The Birth of Horror.   

I watched the same company's production of American Idiot in August and absolutely loved it, to the point that I wanted to go back and see it again, but just didn't have the time. I don't often wish to sit through a lot of shows twice. So when I was presented with this show by the same company, I made it a point to try and work it into my schedule. 

They are doing this show as a touring show, performing at several local venues but fortunately for me, the preview performance was at the local high school my neighborhood is zoned for. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it if I'm being honest. It said Frankenstein. Based on their promo photos, it had a lot more people than I remember Frankenstein having in it. So again, wasn't sure what to expect. I've walked into a lot of shows not what knowing what to expect though, so that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Ultimately, the show was an original script, written by John DiDonna, that featured several stories of authors such as Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron. The script retold several works, including "The Death's Head," "The Black Chamber," "The Vampyre," Byron's poem Darkness, and, of course, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

I found this funny, because my own show that I'm directing is similar in nature, but that script we licensed through Pioneer Drama, featuring stories of Edgar Allen Poe. I feel terrible as an English teacher saying this. But literature from that time period is not my favorite. I do have an appreciation of what the company did. 

To start, I mention costumes a lot. I love fashion. I have an eye for color and textures, and fitting my kids beautifully. I can't sew, and I can't craft them, but I do have an eye for shopping for them. Their costumes for this show were beautiful. The costumes featured rich colors including purples, maroons, golds, and blues.  And fabrics like lace, velvet, brocade and taffeta. There were moments early on in the show where I was actually more focused on the costumes than the story itself. That's not to say that their performances weren’t good, but my brain can sometimes only focus on one thing at a time. The performances were really good. A lot of the dialogue within the show was in unison. Being in unison with a handful of people is usually and eventually pretty easy to master. But this had a large group, and it was sporadic words from within the text. And that can often be a challenge. They handled this technique with ease.

There were moments of the show orchestrated with original music (composed by Josh Solomon) and several dance sequences (choreographed by Mila Makarova).  

This was another show where the performers did not wear body mics.  Instead, several standing microphones were positioned onstage and offstage, yet every performer remained clearly audible.  I think one of the problems why I don't enjoy texts from that time period as much is not so much because of the language itself, but because of the syntax. I am tackling Edgar Allan Poe with my drama club kids. and I just finished reading Jekyll and Hyde with my advanced eighth graders. And they all kept talking about how hard it was. I sympathize with them as far as the difficulty, because there were times when I struggled through it, too, and after reading and rereading the words, especially the ones they seem to have the most trouble with, I ultimately decided it was the syntax that they were struggling with, because it is so very different than how people speak and write today. They also handled this masterfully as well.  They were also good at articulating and given the level of difficulty of the text itself as well as the fact that they did not have body mics on could have led to not being able to understand them but this was not the case.  

Their set was simple because it didn't have to be complicated, and because it was meant for travel. They had a series of platforms in the center and varying shapes and sizes, draped in red velvet. Downstage on either side were two Victorian loveseats. There were several boxes painted to look like crates that were also functional and a trunk that was used for various moments in the show. There were also candelabra with candles, books, pots of black and red roses, statues of angels, and upstage on either side were two folding divider walls. They also used some projection effects that complemented the actions going on in the scene. Most of them rotated and they were purposeful when they needed to be (projections by Dana Mott). They also had this really cool and intricate puppet in the Frankenstein sequence (created by Nic Parks Puppetry).  It was handled by a puppeteer (Luigi Tojeiro) but there was also a performer who made the sounds of the monster and some of the movements.  The synchronization between the puppeteer and performer was impressive, creating a creature that felt remarkably lifelike.

My favorite moment of the evening didn't actually come from the performance itself. As I mentioned earlier, this was an invited dress rehearsal held at Lake Minneola High School. Their theater director, Kaitiin Elizabeth Derbyshire, is a member of the company, which gave students not only the opportunity to see the production but also to learn from professionals working in the field.

The night before, my husband and I attended a performance of Hamilton as part of our Broadway series subscription. Unfortunately, audience behavior throughout the first act made it difficult to enjoy the show. There were phones out, conversations happening during the performance, and even audience members singing along despite being asked not to. As someone who works in theater, loves theater, and reviews theater, it was frustrating to watch a talented cast compete with distractions from the audience.

That experience made what happened at Frankenstein...The Birth of Horror even more meaningful. Despite being made up largely of high school students, this audience displayed exactly the kind of respect and engagement that live theater deserves. They listened attentively, responded appropriately, and remained invested throughout the performance. Afterward, during the talkback session, they asked thoughtful questions about the creative process, the technical elements of the production, and the realities of touring theater. Their curiosity and enthusiasm were a reminder that the next generation of theater artists and patrons is very much alive and well.

In many ways, that felt like the perfect conclusion to an evening dedicated to storytelling. Phantasmagoria's production celebrates the authors, ideas, and imagination that helped shape the horror genre, but it also demonstrates the enduring power of live performance to inspire new audiences. Between the exceptional costumes, strong ensemble work, inventive staging, and evident passion behind every aspect of the production, Frankenstein...The Birth of Horror provided an entertaining and thoughtfully crafted start to the Halloween season.

If you are looking for something a little different to add to your spooky season plans, I highly recommend seeking out this production. As a touring show, Frankenstein...The Birth of Horror will be appearing at venues throughout Central Florida this month, giving audiences multiple opportunities to experience it.

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