ABC sets Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein Live as the next musical event special
Just months after ABC's The Little Mermaid Live debuted to huge ratings, the Alphabet network has announced Young Frankenstein Live as its next live musical special.
Legendary comedian Mel Brooks, who turns 94 years old this summer and who directed the 1974 comedy classic starring Gene Wilder, will produce the special.
The live musical event will feature music from the Broadway musical based on the movie, which Brooks also wrote the music and lyrics to, while co-writing the book with Thomas Meehan.
Next musical: Just months after ABC's The Little Mermaid Live debuted to huge ratings, the Alphabet network has announced Young Frankenstein Live as its next live musical special
Broadway: The live musical event will feature music from the Broadway musical based on the movie, which Brooks also wrote the music and lyrics to, while co-writing the book with Thomas Meehan
Brooks co-wrote the original Young Frankenstein movie with star Gene Wilder, based on characters in Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein.
The story centers on Frederick Frankenstein (Wilder), the grandson of the mad scientist Victor Frankenstein, who is informed that he has inherited the Transylvania estate originally inhabited by Victor.
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He decides to prove that his grandfather was not insane after all and learns the process of how to re-animate a dead body.
Legend: Brooks (above) co-wrote the original Young Frankenstein movie with star Gene Wilder, based on characters in Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein
Proof: He decides to prove that his grandfather was not insane after all and learns the process of how to re-animate a dead body
The film, which also starred Peter Boyle as The Monster, Marty Feldman as Igor and Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth, was a box office hit, earning $86.2 million from a $2.8 million budget.
That take equates to a $449.7 million gross in today's dollars, when adjusted for inflation, and it was widely praised by critics.
The Young Frankenstein musical opened on Broadway in November 2007 to mixed reviews, closing in January 2009.
Musical: The Young Frankenstein musical opened on Broadway in November 2007 to mixed reviews, closing in January 2009
Big hit: The film, which also starred Peter Boyle as The Monster, Marty Feldman as Igor and Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth, was a box office hit, earning $86.2 million from a $2.8 million budget
The film remains an enduring classic, listed as the 13th funniest American movie of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI).
It was also selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2002 by the National Film Board.
During an interview with the Los Angeles Times for Young Frankenstein's 40th Anniversary in 2014, Brooks called it his 'best' film, but not his 'funniest.'
Honored: The film remains an enduring classic, listed as the 13th funniest American movie of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI)
Preservation: It was also selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2002 by the National Film Board
'Young Frankenstein (is) by far the best movie I ever made. Not the funniest — ‘Blazing Saddles’ was the funniest, and hot on its heels would be ‘The Producers.’ But as a writer-director, it is by far my finest,' Brooks said.
The 93 year old comedian still continues to work regularly, voicing Melephant Brooks in Pixar's Toy Story 4 this past summer.
He is also slated to voice Shogun in Blazing Samurai, set for release in 2021, and a gatekeeper in an Untitled Lani Pixels Project.
Still working: The 93 year old comedian still continues to work regularly, voicing Melephant Brooks in Pixar's Toy Story 4 this past summer
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