'Young Frankenstein' delivers Brooks brand of humor

"YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN," national tour, through May 1, 801-355-2787, running time: 2 hours 45 minutes (one intermission)

The playfully off-color jokes fly early and often in "The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein." If you've seen a Brooks' film, you know what you're getting yourself into.

Capitol Theater opened its doors to the national tour on April 26. The opening night crowd loved the Brooks brand of humor and eagerly anticipated the next quotable line from the black-and-white cult film on which the stage musical is based.

Closely following the movie plot, the musical includes most of the favorite lines, especially the scene-stealing ones from Igor, a crowd favorite played by Cory English. English has great comedic timing and very nice chemistry with his fellow actors.

Janine Divita as Frankenstein's "adorable, madcap fiancee" is also a very strong stand-out with her many numbers.

And Christopher Ryan as Fredrick Frankenstein does a wonderful job with not only the songs, but comedic timing and physical comedy.

There are also plenty of group numbers worth talking about, most notably the wonderful show-stopper "Puttin' on the Ritz."

However, backstage movement became very distracting in the first performance. The cast and crew had a tendency to make their backstage crosses too close to hanging backdrops and scrims which caused billowy, wavy movement; a sloppy, even amateurish mistake that's very distracting from the front of the house.

And those sitting in the balcony, high enough to look over the lower set pieces, watched black-clad, headset-wearing crew members make entire set changes (from the train station into the hay ride).

Perhaps there's not a lot to be done about that. These tours have the difficult task of making one set fit in theaters of varying sizes. But it is a good note to crew to be aware. There were a few loose light cues on opening night and a couple complaints about the sound mix, but those are glitches that usually work themselves out by the next show.

All in all, "Young Frankenstein" captures the unique, tongue-in-cheek feel of the movie, with some good songs sprinkled in. And the Susan Stroman choreography is the cherry on top. (Who doesn't love a tap dancing monster?)

Sensitivity rating: Sexual references and innuendo.