Finding the Feeling in Frankenstein - Playing With Fire

It seems 2018 is the year of historic anniversaries. 

Photo by Dan Norman

First we had the 150th anniversary of Louisa May Alcott's delightful Little Women. It's the 50th anniversary of the ridiculously eventful 1968, which is featured in a star exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. Park Square Theatre is celebrating 43 years with an exciting exhibit at the Landmark Center. And now it's the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein. How are we all supposed to keep up?

Photo by Dan Norman

In honor of Frankenstein's publication, the Guthrie has dusted off an original commission from 1988 called Frankenstein - Playing With Fire. It's a highly esoteric adaptation, with half of the show concentrating on a metaphysical conversation between Dr. Frankenstein and his creation, half taking place in flashbacks between the characters' memories of the inception and early life of Frankenstein's monster. It's less an adaptation of the novel and more of a behind-the-scenes, filling in the emotional gaps between the book's flagship events.

Photo by Dan Norman

I'll be honest: this had a really slow start for me. Despite starring a pair of formidable, seasoned actors (Zachary Fine as Dr. Frankenstein and Elijah Alexander as Frankenstein's creature) the meandering conversation that was essentially between Frankenstein and, well, Frankenstein got a little tedious. I want to be clear that I place the blame on the script for this - these two are fine performers who bring a lot of subtlety to their performances, but even they can't make some of the long exchanges engaging. Things picked up considerably once Ryan Colbert appeared as the young Victor Frankenstein in the flashbacks. I've been following Colbert's career for a while now and will confidently say that this is his star-making turn. He steals the show in every scene, flashing through the tedious philosophical arguments with charisma and an expressive face that reminded me of a young Jim Carrey. It's been so fun to watch him grow in his roles on various #tctheater stages, and with Frankenstein he has totally arrived. Jason Rojas brings an Andy Serkis bent to his work as Adam (or "baby Frankenstein"), and his chilling naivete really hits home how lost this monster was once he was created and how totally abandoned by his maker.

Photo by Dan Norman

The scenic design (Michael Locher) and staging (Cat Starmer on lighting; sound design by Cliff Caruthers; and costumes by Raquel Barreto) is likely the biggest draw to the show. A slick piece of black "ice" wends around the Wurtele Thrust Stage, an ominous harbinger of the dark emotion of the Frankenstein story. It's an intriguing piece but unfortunately blocks a little too much of the background for my taste, which lights up with some really interesting pieces to bring the flashbacks to life - I would have liked to have a better view of them. The lighting really sets the emotional tone for the show, alternately bathing the stage in deep hues that reflect the feeling of the action on stage. There are all sots of creepy sound effects that usher us right into Halloween season, and some well chosen props provide a focus for the zany activities (such as say... animating dead bodies?) that we see before us.

Photo by Dan Norman

I think by now we're all clear on how much I love Victorian literature, so I just want to throw in here that it's hard to overstate how important Frankenstein is to the history of books. The novel as we now know it was barely invented by the time an 18 year old Mary Shelley got her hands on it, and it's mind-blowing to think about how such a young woman produced such a big book in an era where most of the population barely read, let alone considered a vision for literature beyond orally told fairy tales and governmental treatises. Frankenstein has such longevity not only because it is an engaging novel - and it really is, a truly thrilling read from start to finish to this day - but because it so elegantly dismantles so many conventions both on and off the page. It invented a genre overnight and managed in less than 300 pages to successfully critique so many powerful assumptions - that the wealthy and educated are somehow morally superior to the rest of us; that science and knowledge are infallible pursuits; that empathy is a waste of time; and that men's ambitions are never to be questioned. It's a captivating story that's riveted audiences now for 200 years, and it is certain that what we think of as literature and movies and television and art itself would not be the same without Frankenstein's existence.

Photo by Dan Norman

I've been struggling to pinpoint what it was about this show that nagged at me, and I think it was the fact that this particular script really dances around the points I just raised. By placing our focus squarely on the sanitized conversation between Frankenstein and his Creature, we ignore their collateral damage. We can get into some important questions of the self - What IS the self? What makes a human human? - but the true effects of Dr. Frankenstein's arrogance are left by the wayside. I suppose that one could argue that Frankenstein himself was the person who most suffered from his creation, but is that really the best we can do? Frankenstein has been such a cultural caricature for so long that we can easily overlook some of the more subtle details of the story that I would argue are more important than the freakshow element. By over-intellectualizing we forget the point of the book - to focus on love and empathy, that intelligence is not a holy grail, that science is indeed fallible, etc.

Photo by Dan Norman

Ultimately, I think this is a mixed bag. The actors really work the most out of their parts, and Ryan Colbert is a bright spot in the show. Although initially jarring, the "time travel" aspect really helps pick up the pace and often provides the most engaging portions of the whole performance. There are some interesting questions asked throughout the show that I think can intrigue fans of the original book. If you come looking for a live action refresh of the horror movies so captivated by the monster aspect of Frankenstein, you might be disappointed. If you have the bandwidth, I think it's worth reading the book, seeing this show and thoroughly reflecting on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's masterpiece. Frankenstein runs at the Guthrie through October 27. For more information or to buy tickets, click on this link.

Photo by Dan Norman