Going from mermaid to monster, ABC this fall will debut Young Frankenstein Live! as its next live musical event, produced by the show’s creator Mel Brooks.
ABC announced the musical event at the TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena today.
Based on the 2007 Broadway stage version of the Brooks-Gene Wilder classic 1974 film comedy Young Frankenstein, the live TV musical will will feature music from the stage adaptation composed by Brooks. Cast and airdate were not announced.
ABC’s last big musical event, the hybrid live-action/animated The Little Mermaid Live! was the most-watched made-for-TV musical on any network in nearly four years and ranked as the week’s No. 1 entertainment show, ABC reminds. Auliʻi Cravalho played the iconic Disney princess and Queen Latifah stole the show as Ursula the sea witch.
Broadway’s Young Frankenstein musical, with a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan, and music and lyrics by Brooks, opened on Broadway Nov. 8, 2007, closing Jan. 4, 2009. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, the original cast included Roger Bart, Megan Mullally, Christopher Fitzgerald, Sutton Foster and Andrea Martin (as the horse-scaring Frau Blucher, played by Cloris Leachman in the film).