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TORONTO - With his latest stage musical, "Young Frankenstein," on a tour that hits Toronto this week, comedy legend Mel Brooks is now turning his attention to a potential theatrical adaptation of his 1974 film "Blazing Saddles."
The writer, director, producer and actor - winner of an Oscar, two Grammys and three Tonys and Emmys - says he's written two songs for the show and is framing a third, but it might not pan out.
"I don't know - 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,"' Brooks, 83, said in a recent phone interview.
"The Times was only lukewarm to 'Young Frankenstein,' but you know, everybody else was hot - some of the greatest reviews I ever got."
"Young Frankenstein," opening Wednesday at the Princess of Wales Theatre, is adapted from Brooks's Oscar-nominated 1974 comedy film and stars Tony Award winners Roger Bart as the title character and Shular Hensley as the monster. Songs include "Puttin' on the Ritz" and "Transylvania Mania."
The subtext to the story? "Womb-envy," quipped Brooks, who wrote the music and lyrics and co-penned the book.
"How come every 10 minutes there's a baby being born and guys have been around for a billion years and they can't make a baby and can't create life? There's a message there. Why does the scientist go so crazy? When he says, 'I will reanimate dead tissue,' he's saying, 'I'll create life."'
"Young Frankenstein" arrived on Broadway in 2007 and although it did well at the box office, it couldn't match the critical hype of his first film-to-stage adaptation: "The Producers," which won a record 12 Tony Awards, he admitted.
"I think if 'Young Frankenstein' had come out first, it would've done spectacularly. But following 'The Producers,' you know, that was a rough go for critical praise. ... But you know what counters that in less than a second? Audiences -live audiences in their response. They are so enthusiastic with such rich laughter and applause," he said.
"I tell ya, anytime I'm depressed, all I've got to do is sit in the audience of 'Young Frankenstein' and listen to the roars, the gales of laughter rolling over me, and I say, 'Yeah, it's good, it's really good."'
In fact, the "Young Frankenstein" tour that kicked off last September is going so "spectacularly well," he said, that some patrons have had trouble getting tickets.
The slapstick superstar has this advice for Canadians who experience the same thing: "I always say, if there a little old lady in front of you, push her aside and get your tickets. Everybody will understand - even the little old lady."
While Brooks won't be able to see the show have its Canadian premiere in Toronto, he will be thinking of this country - as he always does - during his traditional weekend waffle breakfast.
That's because he always drizzles the battered cakes with maple syrup made on Canuck filmmaker Norman Jewison's Caledon, Ont., farm, he said.
"It's Norman Jewison's maple syrup and he sends it out to his friends," said the Brooklyn, N.Y. native, who is also pals with Canadian screenwriter Ron Clark, with whom he's collaborated on "Silent Movie" and "High Anxiety."
"It's sensational. Better than anything I've ever bought in the store, really. It's just great. Maybe because it's free it tastes better, you know."
Brooks is also busy these days promoting "Mel Brooks Collection (20th Century Fox/MGM Blu-ray Box Set)," which contains nine of his classics, including "Young Frankenstein," "The Producers," and "Spaceballs."
"Now I'm in Blu-ray. I can't wait to be in hologram!" he said.
"The Producers" stage musical, which touches on Nazi Germany, is also touring the world and recently finished a run in Berlin.
"Berlin!" Brooks exclaims. "Standing ovations for 'Springtime for Hitler.' Go figure that one out."
As for the stage version of "Blazing Saddles," Brooks said it would explore racial prejudice, like the film does, and if he keeps at it, could be finished in the next year.
And though he's unsure of its fate, he's certain he'll continue to write for the stage in one capacity or another.
"Film takes an eternity - it takes an eternity! - 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.
"You send a bad joke out there and you get this big laugh or you grow wings and fly. It's just amazing."
