1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello, and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: a show that digs up the past, even when those 4 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: involved with rather It's stay Barry, I'm Gay Bluesier, and 5 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: in this episode, we're putting on the ritz to talk 6 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: about the untimely demise of Frankenstein on Broadway. The day 7 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 1: was January fourth, one, a lavish Broadway adaptation of Mary 8 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: Shelley's Frankenstein, was shuddered after a single performance. With a 9 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: budget of roughly two million dollars, the production was the 10 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: most expensive non musical in Broadway history at the time. 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: There have been bigger, more expensive missteps since then, but 12 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: the failure of Frankenstein remains a potent reminder that spectacle 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: is no substitute for strong story retelling. The story of 14 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 1: Broadways Frankenstein began in nineteen seventy nine, when the show 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: debuted to good reviews at the Loretto Hilton Repertory Theater 16 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: in St. Louis. It was the first play written by 17 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: the theater's production manager, Victor Gillanella, and was conceived as 18 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: a quick and easy way to fill an open slot 19 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: in the theater schedule. Veteran producer Joseph Kipness saw the 20 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: show during its two month run that spring and immediately 21 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: began brainstorming how to bring it to Broadway. He hired 22 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: Tom Moore to direct and brought in Casablanca Records to 23 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: back the project as a co producer. Armed with a 24 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: budget of a half a million dollars, the team set 25 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: to work on translating the show to Broadway, hoping to 26 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: hold the premiere in early night. It was an ambitious timeline, 27 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: especially since the team had decided to make Spectacle the 28 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: true star of their show in lieu of show stopping 29 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: musical numbers, Franken's stein hope to win over viewers with 30 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: massive state of the art sets and movie level special effects. 31 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: That approach caused the budget to balloon exponentially. The show 32 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 1: used eight different sets for its prologue and ten scenes, 33 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: an extravagant amount of scenery for a Broadway production, especially 34 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: for a non musical. Further complicating matters was the way 35 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: scene transitions were handled. Most set pieces were designed to 36 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: rotate into view using a giant turntable, while others came 37 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,839 Speaker 1: swinging in from the rafters attached to rigging pulling off. 38 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: Those transitions required the work of thirty five stage hands, 39 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: about three times the number used in an average show. 40 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: The payroll for that unusually large crew added significantly to 41 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,239 Speaker 1: the show's cost, as did the elaborate special effects designed 42 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: by movie tech whiz Brand Ferren. Among the most expensive 43 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: was a one point five million volt Tesla coil the 44 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: tower ring centerpiece of Dr Frankenstein's lab, which threw off 45 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: real sparks between eight to twelve feet in length to 46 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: add for their gravitas to the moments of destruction and creation. 47 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: Farren also brought in the largest sound system ever used 48 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: on Broadway at that time. The aim was to deliver 49 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: spectacle at a scale never before seen on stage, and 50 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: Farren and the producers spared no expense to do just that. Unfortunately, 51 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: there were drawbacks to that high level of immersion. For 52 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: one thing, the sets were too large and numerous to 53 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: be moved for an out of town tryout. That common 54 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: industry practice normally gives producers time to fine tune a 55 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: show before its premiere on Broadway, a luxury that Frankenstein 56 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: literally couldn't afford. The show's premiere was eventually pushed from 57 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: Spring all the way to December and then again to 58 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: January of the following year. There were new were his 59 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: reasons for the setbacks, but chief among them were malfunctioning 60 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: special effects and some behind the scenes turmoil in the cast. 61 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: A recent Yale Drama School graduate named William Converse Roberts 62 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: had landed the lead role as Victor Frankenstein, but following 63 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: a poor reception during previews, he was fired and ultimately 64 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: replaced by a more established actor, David Duke's. Other cast 65 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: members included Diane Weist as Victor's fiance Elizabeth, and Keith 66 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: Joachim as the Creature a k a. Frankenstein's Monster. Jachim 67 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,679 Speaker 1: had originated the role at the Repertory Theater and managed 68 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: to beat out a host of other actors to keep 69 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,279 Speaker 1: the part on Broadway. Another notable bit of casting was 70 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: John Krradine as the blind hermit who befriends the creature Amusingly. 71 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: Karendeine had played a small role in the same scene 72 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: forty five years earlier and the Bride of Frankenstein movie 73 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: starring Boris Karlow. His reunion with Frankenstein on Broadway would 74 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: be the act 's final stage role. The production lurched 75 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 1: its way through rehearsals and twenty nine preview shows in 76 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,480 Speaker 1: late nineteen eighty. By the time it finally premiered at 77 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: the Palace Theater on Broadway on January four, its cost 78 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: had quadrupled from five hundred thousand dollars to two million. 79 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: The reception inside the theater was mostly positive, but shortly 80 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,040 Speaker 1: after the final curtain fell, the reviews hit, and they 81 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: were anything but kind. The show was universally panned, but 82 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: it was New York Times critic Frank Rich who delivered 83 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: perhaps the most scathing review. Although he was impressed by 84 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: Frankenstein's special effects, set design and by Tom Moore's direction, 85 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: he described the overall narrative as quote plotting and lad footed, 86 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: a talkie stilted mishmash that fails to capture either the 87 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 1: gripping tone of the book or the humorous pleasure of 88 00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 1: the film. Rich also took issue with the productions musical score, 89 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: which he found to be derivative and heavy handed. But 90 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,799 Speaker 1: his most damning criticism by far was that the show 91 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: didn't elicten much of an emotional response one way or 92 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: the other. We feel nothing, Rich wrote, except the disappointment 93 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: that comes from witnessing an evening of misspent energy. Frankenstein 94 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: maybe the last word and contemporary theatrical technology, but its 95 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: modern inventions are nothing without the alchemy of plain, old 96 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: fashioned drama. Frankenstein's producers met the following morning and agreed 97 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: that because the reviews had been so negative, the show 98 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: would shut down effective immediately. The decision was quickly second 99 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: guest after several cast members volunteered for pay cuts and 100 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 1: producers offered to waive their royalties. In the end, though, 101 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 1: it just didn't make financial sense to resurrect the show. 102 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: By one estimate, they would have needed to drum up 103 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: an additional four hundred thousand dollars to retool the show 104 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: and air it to EV commercials to counteract the bad press, 105 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:07,039 Speaker 1: and since Frankenstein had already cost four times its initial budget, 106 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: investors wouldn't have been eager to pour any more cash 107 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: into the project. The producers finally admitted defeat on January seven, 108 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: when it was confirmed that the first performance of Victor 109 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: gilla Ella's Frankenstein would also be the last, or at 110 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: least the last on Broadway. Despite the show's bad rap, 111 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: the original version of gill Anela's play, the one first 112 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: performed in St. Louis, continues to be staged to this day. 113 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: That's because, by most accounts, the original show is a 114 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 1: whole lot more engaging than the heavily rewritten version that 115 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: appeared on Broadway. Director Tom Moore later defended those changes, saying, quote, 116 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: we did a lot of rewriting. It's not a major 117 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: piece of American writing, but it was never intended to be. 118 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: The play was written as a theatrical event. We didn't 119 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: attempt to say anything with a message and Frankenstein, we 120 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: attempted to make a grand entertainment a spectacle, and we did. 121 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: The choice to favor spectacle over narrative proved to be 122 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: the wrong one, but there was at least one aspect 123 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: of the production that was absolutely dead on the Broadway 124 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: poster designed by artist Gilbert Lesser. His simple, stark design 125 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: features the monster's outstretched red hand against an all black background. 126 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: The hand itself is formed from torn pieces of paper, 127 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: evoking the patchwork skin of Frankenstein's monster. It was such 128 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: a striking design that as soon as it was made public, 129 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 1: the Museum of Modern Art expressed an interest in acquiring it. 130 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: As Lesser recalled quote. The show's folding notice wasn't even 131 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: up yet when the museum called to tell me the 132 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: poster had been chosen for its permanent collection. It was 133 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: the highest of honors for an artist in his field, 134 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: and the only one for Frankenstein's short lived run on Broadway. 135 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: I'm Gay, Bluesier, and hopefully you now know a little 136 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. You can 137 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 138 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,079 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if 139 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can always send 140 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: them my way at this day at I heart media 141 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks as always to Chandler Mays for producing 142 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 143 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.