MANCHESTER – This weekend, walk tall and screw your neck bolts tight as the Manchester’s Majestic Theatre presents “Frankenstein: A New Musical.”

An innovative adaptation of Mary Shelley’s original novel, this “Frankenstein,” features new music and soaring ensemble production numbers and bears little resemblance to any other creature feature you’ve ever experienced.

“I think it’s easier to do a show like this when you’re starting from scratch,” director Brett Mallard said of this fresh approach to the classic tale. “Because you do have the stage direction that’s been written but as actors and directors, we don’t have to get hung up on certain things that audiences have come to expect. With this brand new work, it allowed everyone involved to use their creative juices and not rely on previous notions.”

Mallard said however, that staging this production did present unique challenges of its own.

“That’s because it’s a story within a story and there’s a lot of spanning of not just time, but geographical locations,” he said. “And we needed to get that across to our audience. Plus, in a space like the Majestic Theatre, there are inherent challenges because of limited wing space. We’re really relying on the audience to use a lot of their imagination. I’ll be honest, the story had some challenging writing twists and we really had to work hard to ensure that the audience understood that what they’re seeing might have been a flashback and not necessarily ‘real time.’”

As for support for the production, Mallard praised local audiences.

“In general, the people who go to the theater are definitely supportive of the arts in this area,” he said. “There may be a shift of support in other communities like the Seacoast or Portsmouth. And it might be said that we as an artistic community sometimes struggle because we’re self sufficient, which is a challenge. But as far as the audience-goers themselves are concerned, they’re always very supportive. They always come and that’s why we do it.”

Performances will be held on at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, at 281 Cartier St., Manchester, in the former Sainte Marie School building; there is plenty of free parking in the Sainte Marie Parish lots. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors 65 and older and $12 for children 17 and younger. Group rates are also available. Tickets can be purchased by visiting or calling the box office at 669-7469, online at www.majestictheatre.net or at the door prior to the performance.