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Entertainment :: Music
Frankenstein - World Premiere Recording
by Jack Gardner
EDGE Contributor
Tuesday Sep 30, 2008

The world premiere recording of the Off Broadway

production of Frankenstein by Mark Baron and
Jeffrey Jackson is well worth a listen, although it
is not very likely to leave you humming it’s tunes.

The score for "Frankenstein" by Mark Baron is very

melodic and lovely to listen to. It is very
reminiscent of "Les Miz" and "Wicked"... too
reminiscent. The music, for the most part,
captures the mood of the piece, but it also feels a
little too generic at times. I didn’t really notice
any catchy melodies, even though I listened to the
cast album several times. This is not to say it is a
bad show or a bad album. I suspect in
performance on stage, the music is very moving -
it just falls a little short on the CD version.

The plot of "Frankenstein" is hard to follow from

the CD alone. I had to do a little internet research to understand what exactly was
going on at the different points on the album - the liner notes are brief and do not
completely explain the show well.

My biggest problem with this recording is the simple fact that I do not like Hunter
Foster’s voice. I am not saying he is a bad singer, just that, in my opinion, his sound
it a little too reminiscent of Justin Timberlake when I would rather be hearing Colm
Wilkinson or one of the other great Broadway tenors. His tone, especially in the higher
end of his range is very whiny and nasally and the words are often incomprehensible.
His portrayal of Victor Frankenstein on this recording does show the emotional aspects
of the character very well. I just wish it was more pleasant to listen to.

As the Monster, Steve Blanchard has a lovely voice, but as with Mr. Foster, I find his
voice to be occasionally grating in the higher register. When he is down in the lower
end of his voice though, the tone is just gorgeous and creepy at the same time. I
think Mr. Blanchard has some of the best numbers in the show and I would love to
have the opportunity to see him perform this role on stage.

Overall the singers are very good. Musically, Christine Noll and Mandy Bruno are the
shining stars of the recording, even though their parts are not as large as those of
Messrs Foster and Blanchard. The heavy use of sound effects bothered me the first
time I listed to the recording, but after I began to get a sense of the shape of the
show from my internet research, they seem to meld into the music quite well. The
orchestration on this recording is very good and it’s nice to hear a cast recording from
a smaller label using an orchestra rather than just synthesizers.

While I don’t think this recording of "Frankenstein" will overwhelm you, I do think that
it is a good album and a very enjoyable listen. If you’ve liked "Phantom of the Opera"
and "Jekyll and Hyde," you will certainly not regret adding this CD into your cast album
library.

Jack Gardner is a founding producer of and director for Anagram Productions. He has performed in
Operas, Musicals and dramatic works as well as doing voice over and radio work. Jack lives in Miami
with his three dogs.

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