QC native makes history in ‘Lisa Frankenstein’

Shane Partlow’s acting career has taken him from an Oscar-winning film to new spins on catching Lincoln’s killer and a teen Frankenstein.

The genial 58-year-old native of Taylor Ridge, Ill. (and Rockridge High alum) is in “Manhunt,” a new Apple TV limited series (streaming starting today). Partlow plays a preacher who ends up baptizing the killer of John Wilkes Booth (President Lincoln’s assassin), Boston Corbett.

“I had never been to Savannah before, and it kind of reminded me of a clean New Orleans,” Partlow said of the series filming in Savannah, Ga., in fall 2022.

Created by “Friday Night Lights” writer Monica Beletsky, Manhunt tells the tales of many Americans who banded together to track down John Wilkes Booth after the Confederate assassin escaped during that infamous night (April 14, 1865).

Thomas H. “Boston” Corbett was an English-born American soldier and milliner who killed Booth on April 26, 1865. “Manhunt” co-stars Patton Oswalt as a detective.

Like most actors, Partlow (based north of Atlanta) has had a varied career on stage and screen.

A former Circa ’21 Bootlegger (off and on seven years), he produced the comedy horror cult classic movie Beauty Queen Butcher, and co-produced the critically-acclaimed feature film Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun starring Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Southland, Gotham)

With Rowan Joseph, he founded Theatre A Go-Go, Inc., which has produced live stage show across the U.S. including the world premiere of new plays and musicals in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Partlow co-produced the world premiere of The Queen of Bingo in Chicago’s historic Loop theater district, the Off-Broadway premiere at the Greenwich House Theatre in New York, the Los Angeles production at the Coronet Theater in Hollywood, and the national tour for 14 years.

He was an associate producer on Tapestry, The Music of Carole King Off-Broadway. For five years, Partlow co-produced the national tour of An Evening With Jack Klugman starring the three-time Emmy Award winner (best known for playing Oscar on TV’s “The Odd Couple”).

As an actor, he can be seen playing the tailor in the Academy Award winning Best Picture “Green Book” (2018), starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali.

Of “Green Book,” he said this week: “It gives you a little pedigree. One of my friends said, ‘It’ll be in your obituary now’.”

Partlow has starred as ‘Sis’ in the national tour of the Off-Broadway comedy The Queen of Bingo, and received The Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical playing Will Rogers in San Francisco’s DLOC production of The Will Rogers Follies and has played the trick Roper in 22 productions.

His TV credits include Will & Grace, Gilmore Girls, iCarly,Imagination Movers, Breakout Kings, Common Law, Scream Queens, Roots, Claws, Preacher, The Amazing Race (with Rowan Joseph), Leverage: Redemption with Noah Wyle, and National Treasure: Edge of History with Catherine Zeta-Jones (which can be seen on Disney Plus).

New Franken-film

Partlow’s film credits include Princess Diaries 2, Georgia Rule, Inventing Adam, Video Girl with Meagan Good, Xtinction, and Knucklehead with Dennis Farina.

He did his video audition for the new movie horror-parody “Lisa Frankenstein” in spring 2022 at his sister’s house in Orion, Ill. She read with him off-camera for the part of the high school teacher, written by Diablo Cody (“Juno,” “Jennifer’s Body”) and directed (in her feature film directing debut) by Zelda Williams, 34-year-old daughter of legendary actor Robin Williams.

“I credit her for getting me the role,” Partlow said of his sister. “Lisa Frankenstein” shot in New Orleans in the summer of 2022, and released nationwide last month.

Co-starring Kathryn Newton as Lisa and Cole Sprouse as her crush The Creature, it’s described as a “coming of RAGE love story about a teenager and her crush, who happens to be a corpse. After a set of horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a journey to find love, happiness – and a few missing body parts.”

The New York Times wrote of the new film:

“Lisa Frankenstein” is girly-gothy, in a way that’s a lot of fun once you get used to it. In fact, the best thing about the film is its production design, which takes familiar trappings from movies of the era (I thought of everything from “Poltergeist” to “Edward Scissorhands” to “Pretty in Pink” to “Weird Science,” itself a loose “Frankenstein” adaptation) and just dials up the color temperature a few degrees. It’s a pastiche crossed with a tribute, complete with references to slasher films, Cinderella, loner high school flicks and a makeover montage. Plus, of course, “Frankenstein.”

The tale follows the peculiarly named Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), a misfit who witnessed her mom get barbarically slayed by an ax murderer, only to see her dad get married to the intolerant Janet (Carla Gugino) in the tragedy’s wake. Now, Lisa just spends her days avoiding her popular yet kindly cheerleader stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano) and daydreaming at a nearby cemetery, wishing that she was with the dead occupant of her favorite grave decorated with an old-timey bust.

When she makes that wish all too literally after suffering much cruelty in the hands of her school crush and her predatory lab partner, the corpse misunderstands Lisa’s bidding, abandoning his coffin to join her in the land of the living, the review says.

Another review calls the movie a “candy-colored paean to teen outsiders, undying love, and murderous self-discovery—would be notable simply for its sheer weirdness (and its outstanding usage of a magical tanning bed). But right now, it’s notable for an even weirder reason: it is the fourth Frankenstein-inspired film to hit cinemas in less than 12 months.”

According to The When to Stream X (formerly Twitter) account, Lisa Frankenstein is available for online purchase on Apple, Amazon, and Google, and will eventually stream on Peacock.

2nd time working for Cody

Partlow said he was actually in Diablo Cody’s first directorial job, “Paradise” (2013), which she also wrote, starring Julianne Hough, Holly Huter and Nick Offerman.

Partlow played a buffet attendant, but his scene was cut from the film. He’s still listed in the credits so still gets residuals from it.

“That was kind of fun to be back on a project with her. She’s so sweet, she was so nice,” Partlow said of Cody. He had never met Robin Williams and was impressed with Zelda, who’s an actress and has directed several music videos.

The first shot on the first day of filming “Lisa Frankenstein” was a closeup on Partlow, which he had never experienced on a set before. He’s in a couple small scenes in Lisa’s high school.

“It was a lot of fun. It was 1989, that aesthetic,” Partlow said of the story. “I remember when it was 1989, that’s right – the hair, the clothes, it was very nostalgic in that sense.”

He said Kathryn Newton (who plays Lisa) was “wonderful in the film.”

“I think it’ll have legs in the sense of being watched over the years,” Partlow said, adding it has a distinct visual style.

“It was great at really having a lot of colors; the production design was great,” he said. “It was fun. It may not appeal to everyone. If you like the horror, rom-com, love story situation.”

Partlow saw it first while dog sitting for a friend in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“It was interesting what she did, what she created,” he said of Williams. “She certainly has a style. It seems like people either loved it or hated it.”

Visiting the QC

Partlow tries to get back to the QC two or three times a year, including around Christmas, and the Fourth of July. He hasn’t yet been to The Last Picture House movie theater in downtown Davenport.

Partlow didn’t work at all last year, during the Screen Actors Guild strike (which lasted July to November). The strike centered partly on increasing actor residuals (royalty payments) for streaming series, which is important, he said. It’s just good to have new work to promote again.

“It’s good to work. As an actor, you just want to work,” Partlow said.

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