Viterbo kicks off its 2025-2026 theater season on the mainstage for its production of “Young Frankenstein,” running Oct. 9 through Oct. 12 in the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre. The show will also include one show with an American Sign Language interpretation on Oct. 10.
The Mel Brooks musical is a campy, dark comedy about the grandson of Victor Frankenstein, who, instead of Frankenstein, goes by Fronkensteen. Frederick Fronkensteen travels to Transylvania to claim his grandfather’s estate, where he encounters friends who help him create a monster. This sends the town into shambles, and the rest is the show.
The uniqueness of this specific show is that it is currently being directed by guest director Dan Pivovar. Pivovar grew up in New York and majored in musical theater performance in undergrad at SUNY Geneseo. While working in a summerstock show in 2013, he met Brittany Bara, a member of Viterbo’s musical theatre faculty. The two got married and both moved to La Crosse in 2022 when Bara was hired at Viterbo. Pivovar has been associated with the faculty for a few years now, and also performed locally at the La Crosse Community Theater and in Winona.
When asked why Pivovar wanted to work on this show at Viterbo, this is what he said: “Knowing how great the shows are and how talented the students are, it was a total ambition to get involved at some point, and I feel very lucky to have been offered the chance.”
As someone a part of this show, I can say confidently that Pivovar brings such a fun and exciting process to the rehearsal process, always lifting up the spirits of cast members. In his own words, “I’m not sure if anything I do brings a ‘new perspective’ or outcome to Viterbo, but my whole philosophy to directing is that 75% of the job is keeping a positive room. Lines will come, choreography will get tighter, acting beats will get discovered, I don’t worry about that as much as making sure the actors and production team feel seen, appreciated, and cared for.”
When I asked Pivovar how working on “Young Frankenstein” has been, he said it is going well. The show is a string of many hands making light work, as there are plenty of technical aspects within the show. Between nearly ten completely different scene changes, a lot of costumes, and a huge tap number, Pivovar said that pulling this show together has been a lot of hard work because of the scale of the show. Rehearsals for the show started on the first day of school, and the first show opens on Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets for the show are on sale now and can be bought online or at the box office of the Fine Arts Center. Show times include Oct. 9-Oct. 11 at 7:00 p.m. and Oct. 12 at 2:00 p.m.
