Frankly, My Dear

Poor Frankenstein. The original creature from Mary Shelley’s novel may be a victim of his own success. The story became so popular after its publication in 1818 that Ol’ ´Stein has been imitated, adopted, and parodied -- so much that his original story has been lost. These days, we’re more...

By Deirdra Funcheon

April 6, 2006

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Poor Frankenstein. The original creature from Mary Shelley’s novel may be a victim of his own success. The story became so popular after its publication in 1818 that Ol’ ´Stein has been imitated, adopted, and parodied -- so much that his original story has been lost. These days, we’re more likely to picture the 150-year-old Herman Munster than to envision the real Frankenstein traipsing across the ice in the Arctic Circle, as he did in the novel. We’re more likely to think of Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter than to imagine Shelley’s yellow-eyed monster hiding in the mountains near Geneva (Frankenstein is Swiss?!). And we’re certainly more likely to pop in a DVD of the 1990 classic Frankenhooker than we are to actually read the good book.

That’s where the Flying Machine comes to the rescue. The New York-based theater troupe is dedicated to portraying the real story – with a little help from masks, props, mime, and dance. In their production, you will get a taste of the novel’s two main themes: namely, that rejection can make an otherwise-good person turn psycho (sorry, did your ex-boyfriend already teach you this?) and that modern man better watch what he builds – it could come back to kill him.

The Flying Machine performs Frankenstein at The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach) Thursday through Saturday. Tickets cost $30. Call 561-832-7469, or visit www.kravis.org.
April 6-8

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