An Interview With Gerry McIntyre, Director of Bay Street's Upcoming Show Mel Brooks's 'Young Frankenstein'

On June 27, Mel Brooks’s classic musical hit “Young Frankenstein” opened at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Colonial Theater in Massachusetts. This week, the show opens at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor for Long Island audiences to enjoy.

“Young Frankenstein” will be Bay Street’s final show of the mainstage summer season and is being produced in a co-production with the Berkshire Theatre Group and Geva Theater in Rochester, where it is headed after its Sag Harbor run.

According to the show’s director and choreographer Gerry McIntyre, this production of “Young Frankenstein” is a scaled down, “deconstructed” version, the idea of which was conceived by the original director Stuart Ross who had to step down from the production after a family emergency. There are only 11 cast members in this show, as opposed to the usual 30 plus, with only a four-person orchestra. Bringing the theaters together as a “tri-production” was also Ross’s idea.

A trimmed down version of a Broadway spectacle may give some audience members pause, but McIntyre assures it will be a hoot.

“It’s usually a huge event. A lot of sets, a lot of costumes, dance breaks after every number,” he said. “The version that we’re doing has been so well received, because you don’t need all of that stuff. All you need is the great Mel Brooks material, which we have. And there’s still great dancing, still great singing.

“It’s a good thing for everybody — everybody splits the cost on one thing,” he continued. “They all put money in to get it done, and then we transfer it from theater to theater with the same company, same production, same sets, same lights.

“Everyone wins,” said McIntyre. “To me, it’s a great idea: that you can share the cost with another theater and still have the great product.”

The smaller, more intimate nature of this show also allows for good camaraderie between cast members.

“It’s amazing, because then you get to see everybody. Starring roles, backup parts, it’s all inclusive. It’s a great equalizer,” said McIntyre. “It makes everybody say, ‘you can’t do this without me, I can’t do this without you, so let’s work as a team to get to the end of the goal.’ It’s so beautiful.”

McIntyre was originally only supposed to choreograph the show, but after Ross stepped away, McIntyre, who has previously worked on many shows with the BTC including titles like “Godspell” and “Nina Simone: Four Women,” was chosen for the job.

“It was really a lot, and I don’t recommend it,” he said. “It was a lot to deal with, it wasn’t easy. The transition was really hard. I had to step up for everybody involved. If I jumped ship, no one was going to be there. I didn’t want to let anybody down.

“With choreographing, I just do my thing and leave. Now, it’s different,” he continued. “It was monumental. I had to do a lot of breathing and have a lot of extra patience.”

An extra dollop of patience with breakfast is what McIntyre recommends. But for McIntyre, the outcome was well worth it.

“I’m really proud that I made it through,” he said. “Getting it up, and seeing it on opening night, you feel okay. If you buckle down and focus on the hard work, things can happen.”

McIntyre’s process for directing three shows at one time was simple: Don’t do that. He blocks each show one at a time, so as to not get overwhelmed.

“Let’s say there’s only a curtain in the Berkshires, so I have to restage it [for Bay Street and Geva] but I don’t have to restage it today. I only have to focus on the Berkshires today,” he said. “Next week, when I’m at Bay Street, I will do it for Bay Street, but I’m not thinking of Geva yet, because I have to be in the moment and be present.”

Fortunately, he didn’t end up having to change much about the staging before bringing it to Bay Street.

“The most I did was restage some stuff. In Berkshire, all we needed to do was play out. Bay Street is a thrust theater, so we have to include the people on the sides,” he explained. “Bay Street is more intimate — Berkshire had a balcony and mezzanine, which required the actors to ‘play up’ a lot. They don’t have to do that here.”

McIntyre says that while directing and choreographing a show like this as only one person “kept things interesting, and interesting is good …” he’s relieved the hard work is over.

“I feel so much lighter now that we’ve played the Berkshires,” he said, “and it was a huge hit.”

McIntyre, who performed at Bay Street in its 2011 production of “Enter Laughing,” feels honored to be back as a director.

“I performed at Bay Street as an actor. Coming to the theater now as a director/choreographer, I feel great. I’ve learned so much. I’m better,” he explained. “It’s really humbling, you have to take a breath and have grace about it.”

His directorial vision for the show stemmed from having to differentiate from Ross’s ideas for the show.

“When I took over, I said ‘I have to make my vision something different. I have to make it clearer for my brain, the audience’s brain and the actor’s brain,’” he explained.

His way of doing that is beginning the show by bringing out the cast as “players” before any characters are introduced.

“I wanted to make it clear that this is what we’re doing: We came here to put on a show, these are the players in the show, and we are all working together to get to the end prize,” he said. “So how do you do that? To me, the company comes on stage as the players. There are no characters yet. Everybody’s doing ensemble work.”

His inspiration for this technique was Patrick Barlow’s “The 39 Steps,” in which two of the actors cast as the “clowns,” play myriad different characters against the main story of Richard Hannay and Pamela.

“That’s what I was going for,” said McIntyre. “Hopefully that’s what we’re doing.”

McIntyre’s parting message was of excitement for the show.

“It’s so great, and you see how it happens, you see how talented people are, which I think is the most amazing part,” he said.

“Young Frankenstein” performances at Bay Street Theater begin Thursday, August 1, and run until August 25. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit baystreet.org or call the box office at 631-725-9500. Bay Street Theater is at 1 Long Wharf, Sag Harbor.