As a "casual" (as opposed to die-hard) fan of Mel Brooks' 1974 film "Young Frankenstein," I was excited to finally see the Broadway musical stage variation opening at Cadillac Palace Theatre this week. It's the first national tour of this show since it closed on Broadway in January.

This show will be in Chicago for a special six-week run and even stars both Roger Bart, as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and actor Shuler Hensley as The Monster, in the same roles they originated on Broadway.

Unfortunately, I found this 2 1/2-hour musical less than electrifying, not very imaginative and just plain not very funny.

I can remember two Thanksgivings ago, in 2007, seeing a snippet of one of the musical's more popular numbers, "Roll in the Hay" performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NBC telecast (or was it during an NBC "Today" show segment?) and being rather amused and hopeful about how this entire production would come together, re-imagined for the stage.

Sadly, none of it seemed very imaginative.

The acting (often over-acting, which is expected in such a parody) is good, but not great.

As for the use of the word "great," it's better for me to use the word grate, as this musical and a number of the songs, really do grate on one's nerves.

"Please Don't Touch," featuring the fiance (played by one-note Beth Curry) of the famed mad scientist and her frigid personality, ranks at the top of my list of annoying musical numbers in this show.

And the first act seemed so long, which I would never expect of any fun Mel Brooks musical.

Bart lacked his usual zest and stage enthusiasm and Hensley lumbers through number after number in the more brisk (thankfully) second act.

The original New York run included Megan Mullally as fiance Elizabeth, which might have been mildly amusing and there was much talk about how actress Cloris Leachman, at age 81, even auditioned to reclaim her original run from the 1974 film as Frau Blucher (which would have been a real hoot).

Actress Anne Horak as blonde, buxom lab assistant Inga (played by Teri Garr in the film) does a passable job, but at times goes in and out of her "heavy" accent, especially in her big second act number "Listen to Your Heart."

Cory English, as Igor, was also just ok, while Joanna Glushak, as Frau Blucher, was the most entertaining of the bunch. Her big number "He Vas My Boyfriend" is clever, snappy and funny.

If you can endure all the strobe lights, it's also easy to notice how the scenery by Robin Wagner works nicely for an interesting set.

Rather than the expectations that come with a splashy grand finale, I found the biggest and best number was "Join the Family" business, complete with a towering creature puppet looming over the ensemble.

Speaking of ensemble, there's a "Welcome to Transylvania" number that croaks on forever, before the first act finally concludes.

And by the end of the entire show, I was the one who felt like part of an experiment gone horribly wrong.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.

Today's Celebrity Birthdays

Director Mike Nichols is 78. Country singer Stonewall Jackson is 77. Singer Eugene Pitt of the Jive Five is 72. Singer P.J. Proby is 71. Country singer Guy Clark is 68. Actress Sally Field is 63. Singer Glenn Frey is 61. Newscaster and California First Lady Maria Shriver are 53. Actress Lori Singer ("Fame," "Footloose") is 52. Actor Lance Kerwin is 49. Bassist Paul Brindley of The Sundays is 46. Singer Corey Glover of Living Colour is 45. Actor Peter DeLuise ("seaQuest DSV," "21 Jump Street") is 43. Actress Kelly Rutherford ("Melrose Place") is 41. Actor Ethan Hawke is 39. Actress Thandie Newton is 37. Model-actress Rebecca Romijn is 37. Actresses Nicole Dubuc ("Major Dad") and Taryn Manning are 31. Actress Emma Stone ("Zombieland," "Superbad") is 21.