A scene from the original Broadway cast of Young Frankenstein. (Paul Kolnik/Mirvish Productions)Comedy legend Mel Brooks is working on a musical adaptation of his 1974 hit film Blazing Saddles.
The 83-year-old director, screenwriter, actor and producer hopes to follow up the success of his stage adaptations of Young Frankenstein and The Producers.
Young Frankenstein, adapted from his Oscar-nominated 1974 film, opened on Broadway in 2007. It has been on tour since September and opens at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre on Wednesday, where it will run through April 18.
The Producers, Brooks's first feature film about two theatrical partners (Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) who deliberately contrive the worst possible Broadway show, received an Oscar in 1968 for best original screenplay.
Mel Brooks is working on a musical adaptation of Blazing Saddles. (Katy Winn, Breeders' Cup/Associated Press)Brooks later turned it into a musical, which opened on Broadway in 2001, ran for 2,502 performances and received an unprecedented 12 Tony awards.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Brooks said he has written two songs for a stage version of Blazing Saddles and is working on a third.
He said the show would explore racial prejudice, just as the film starring Wilder did, and it could be finished in the next year.
But he says Broadway may not be its first stop.
"If I did it, I wouldn't rush to New York with it because the Times would say, 'Oh dear, oh dear, another movie converted and transmogrified into a musical," he said. "The Times was only lukewarm to Young Frankenstein, but you know, everybody else was hot — some of the greatest reviews I ever got."
And although he's unsure of this show's fate, he's certain he'll continue writing for the stage in one capacity or another.
"Film takes an eternity — it takes an eternity," he said. "And there are, like, infinite collaborations, which waters down anything. But the stage is ... you throw your naked heart on the stage and they respond to it or not, and it's immediate."
With files from The Canadian Press
