For more than two centuries, Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel Frankenstein has remained a favorite within the horror fiction genre. Its tale of a scientist's effort to bring back the dead by carving a new creature from their corpses—only to have his creation turn on him through a series of violent acts—has had an enduring influence on popular culture and spawned many creative adaptations. Northern Michigan University Theatre and Dance will premiere its version of the stage play, with opening night appropriately on Halloween.
Set in the icy polar regions where Victor Frankenstein has chased the creature he brought to life, NMU's highly theatrical and emotional production traces Frankenstein's path to the final confrontation with his intelligent, articulate, sensitive and powerfully violent child.
“That's how we're approaching this new adaption—the Creature is being directed to act sort of like a newborn,” said director Kaitlyn Frotton, adjunct faculty member and director of the NMU Theatre and Dance box office. “He still looks repulsive, but I think the issue Victor has with him is less about his appearance and more about how alarming that lifestyle change could be. The intimacy and the responsibility that is now expected from Victor freaks him out a little bit, and it's ultimately why he leaves.”
The NMU production was adapted by Alastar Dimitrie, originally for the U.P. Shakespeare Festival he serves as director. He also works at NMU as a senior administrative assistant in the Registrar's Office.
Frotton and Dimitrie are not only collaborators on the play, but life partners. They have acted in and directed numerous productions worldwide, and first met while attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Their shared experience parenting a 2-year-old son influenced their interpretation of the Creature as infant-like.
The couple fine-tuned the script to deviate from Shelley's novel in a few notable ways. They shared the story more from the Creature's perspective than the scientist's; injected more strength and substance into the character of Elizabeth to provide a contemporary audience with a “more obvious feminist feel”; and cut the opening scene when Victor is dying and relays his life story to a passerby who finds him.
“But what I really loved about that opening was how Victor continually urged the passerby to avoid having too much career ambition because that's not what's important in life and won't lead to true happiness,” Frotton added. “I found that really moving personally when I revisited the novel because I can relate to the lifestyle change many first-time parents experience. Victor seemed to have a hard time with that when he created a new being. I also felt moved by the Creature's inextinguishable desire to be loved and seen by his creator even after experiencing heartbreaking abandonment and hate.”
Frotton warns that the production is best suited for high school ages and older because it will be scary and include some violence. There will also be fog, strobe lights and other technical elements.
NMU's Frankenstein will be staged in the Panowski Black Box Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31-Nov. 2 and Nov. 7-9, with an additional 1 p.m. matinee Nov. 9. A Theatre for All sensory-friendly performance is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2. Tickets are available at nmu.universitytickets.com.