Majestic Theater
in West Springfield, Massachusetts
www.majestictheater.com
Piecemeal -- The Frankenstein Musical
(or The Tale of the Undertaker's Son)
Written and Composed by Howard Odenttz
through December 6, 2009
Review by Mary Richards
Piecemeal is a grabber: mist rising in the graveyard swirls around coffin and mourners; lightning and spooky music create a delicious Gothic atmosphere. The mood turns comic when the cast launches into the amusing song, We Are the Sum of Our Parts. Thus opens the story of Igor, the undertaker's hunchback son who wants with all his heart to be a doctor. His parents, Asher (Frank Aronson) and Gerta (Jaime Taber) give spot on performances that rival the innkeeper and his wife in the Les Miz Broadway production. Delightfully callous, these self-serving, morally bankrupt people scorn their son’s ambitions. The father reminds Igor that he was born to be an undertaker. Undaunted, Igor continues to study his anatomy book, believing he has a higher purpose.
In a twist of fate, Igor has the good fortune to connect with the effete Victor Frankenstein who shares that fashion, not medicine, is his dream. In a burst of petulant rebellion, Victor suggests that he and Igor swap places, thus freeing Igor to study medicine and Victor to become a fashion designer. Whereupon Victor breaks into song, I Like To Sew. In velvet and lace and with elegant posturing, R. Steve Pierce as Victor Frankenstein convincingly showcases his ambitions and pomposity.
Igor jumps at the chance to pursue his dream and becomes Professor Krempe's star pupil. When the professor reveals his amazing success in reanimation and suggests the need for fresh body parts for further experimentation, Igor enlists the help of his undertaker, body-snatching father.
Things are looking up until Victor returns, a failure in the fashion world. He tells Igor in a condescending and pitiless exchange that because he is returning to college, Igor is out.
In a series of unfortunate circumstances, Victor becomes another murder statistic and his body is spirited off to the Professor. When Igor sees Victor's body, a light bulb goes off. Identity theft without benefit of credit reports happens in a Mary Bysshe Shelley Frankenstein moment, much to Igor’s benefit.
Howard Odentz's play is loaded with examples of the human condition that would have Dr Phil rubbing his hands together: dysfunctional family, search for identity, love, following your dreams, and murder. The reanimation scenes are priceless. The 12 Card Carlotta scene played by Gerta and her friends is filled with energy and hilarity. Music, lyrics and dialogue seamlessly flow into a believable, fast-paced story of ambition, deceit, love and greed which translates into topnotch entertainment. The audience's enthusiastic response confirmed that Piecemeal is an enjoyable, amusing play -- time well-spent.
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© The Arts, etc., Copyright 2009
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