Fascinating 'Frankenstein' May Not Be For Everybody's Taste

A world premiere production for The Wallis Theatre by Four Larks, "Frankenstein" is a lark, indeed. Not for everyone, this is a musical-modern dance-drama hybrid that, if you think about it, reflects what Dr. Frankenstein created in his monster: A construction of different pieces all joined together to form something unique.

A mishmash of styles, the swift running time benefits the show which is sort of a greatest-hits of Mary Shelley's classic novel that boils down the story to themes of disconnect, responsibility, fear, and empathy.

Opening with a mournful song played by onstage musicians and sung by company member Lukas Papenfusscline, the story shows a bundled-up Dr. Frankenstein arriving in the snowy north with a story to tell. And tell it she does. While the actual Dr. Frankenstein is played by Kila Packett, what he does onstage is narrated by Claire Woolner who mimics his movements as Shelley (who wrote the book at the age of 18 some 200 years ago). This takes a bit to figure out at first, but once you get it, you sort of understand where this production will go.

Very much movement-based with sprinklings of folk songs strewn about, the story itself twists and weaves through Dr. Frankenstein's life through the creation of his creature, played with impressive physical deftness by Max Baumgarten. Once our "monster" appears, the show dives into a compellingly emotional abyss that finds Dr. Frankenstein's creation trying to fit in. This is a beautiful extended sequence that strikes at the heart of our perceptions of beauty.

Because the nature of the show is a bit more esoteric, it won't be something all audiences will engage with, but this reviewer found it oddly compelling. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting, and was thrown back to the early '90s when I saw a production of "Metamorphosis" on Broadway starring Mikhail Baryshnikov. I was too young to understand the avant-garde experience and as soon as I saw the actors marching around stage to a pounding drum I tuned out.

Here, the amalgamation of styles and genres was sort of fascinating and when I noticed the connection to the creation of the "monster," I understood. There is a beauty and ugliness to it that embodies exactly what Frankenstein's creation was. And whether we see only the beauty or only the ugliness (or hopefully both) we open it up to our own interpretation.

"Frankenstein" runs through March 1, 2020 at the Lovelace Studio Theater in The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 n. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. For tickets visit https://www.thewallis.org/Frankenstein