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.
