Newtowne brings to life old favorite ‘Fantasticks'

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo Shown in rehearsal, Luisa (Kari Jo Tiede), center, is happy after her hero, Matt (Ryan Hancock), vanquishes their attackers. His father (Larry Silvestro) comes to congratulate him as the villains, including Jack Williamson, left, Robert Rausch, on the bench, and Dave Bayles, are sprawled about. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

In past seasons, Kerry Robinson has designed far more elaborate sets than the one currently onstage at Three Notch Theatre.

But this is Tom Jones' and Harvey Schmidt's "The Fantasticks," an allegorical musical first produced off-Broadway in 1960 that calls for nothing more than a modest stage within a stage (plus a costume closet).

In fact, throughout the original productions' 42-year interrupted run (off-Broadway's longest ever), "The Fantasticks" has never called for anything more — not even for an upgrade to the cardboard moon (and sun) that dangles off one of several poles anchoring the sub-stage. The poles also hold up a banner bearing the title of the show, and it is The Mute (Rebecca DeLorme), in mime costume, who pulls it down at the beginning of each act and raises it back up at the end.

There you have it: a popular, name-brand musical that can be put on for cheap. What more could a producer ask for?

According to Robinson, who has designed the set and also directs the Newtowne Players' first play of its sixth season, the community theater group had only been waiting for a time when "The Fantasticks" would mesh with the season's offerings.

Incidentally, or not, the timing has also worked out well in terms of casting. Several actors in this production have already performed in the play, and those who have not perform their roles as if they have.

Set in a small town in no particular place, "The Fantasticks" is based on a true-enough premise that children are destined to do exactly the opposite of what their fathers command.

What's more, if two fathers, and neighbors, were to despise each other so much that they built a wall between their properties and forbade their teenage children of opposite sexes from speaking to each other … yes, I'd say the two starry-eyed youngsters have a good chance of falling in love.

As it happens, for Hucklebee (Larry Silvestro) and Bellomy (Steve Fogle), all the hating is just a charade they hope will convince their children, Matt (Ryan Hancock) and Luisa (Kari Jo Tiede), to wed. It's working! It's working so well that they turn to a fresh charade that will allow them to end their feigned feud and speed up the engagement. For this, they call upon El Gallo (Robert K. Rausch), a fantastical villain sporting a red and black cape, who, for some cash, will enact a first-class, fake abduction (with trimmings) that will falsely raise Matt to shining hero status.

Despite his cowering, Matt manages to slay (not really) Luisa's abductors, and soon the two are married. However, when they find out about their fathers' deception, the newlyweds grow jaded about the whole marriage thing and opt to separately pursue raw experiences, which are illustrated by the cast in Act 2 through captivating tableaux.

Hancock and Tiede have natural chemistry, and their earnest performances make them the picture of naÔve yet angelic youth — dreamy romantics guided by hyper-practical fathers who get their kicks through gardening, an activity they appreciate mainly for its predictability. Unlike children, one of the fathers says as the other nods in agreement, every plant grows according to the plot. That's only one of several memorable lines in this symbol-heavy musical. Try, as well, "Children play on puppet stages earned by fathers' hard-earned wages."

Silvestro and Fogle deliver these lines convincingly and, like the children, have good chemistry. Fogles' energy, for one, allows Silvestro, who is more understated, to not have to overstretch, and they even look the old-fashioned parts.

"The Fantasticks" also has a memorable tune, namely "Try to Remember," which is finely handled by Rausch.

And when a teenage romance is about to make your head explode, in come El Gallo's assistants Mortimer (David Bayles) and Henry (Jack Williamson), the last survivors, it would seem, of a commedia dell'arte theater troupe. Their ragged costumes alone are worth a laugh, but the addition of Bayles, by now a veteran of the local scene, and the 82-year-old Williamson (using a cane, by the way, to get around the stage) is an additional dose of authenticity.

For "The Fantasticks," though, it seems particularly important to recognize those behind the scenes. The makeup, not to mention the occasional use of earthy, kaleidoscopic lighting, is on the mark. Without it, the minimalist set would remain that alone and not so effectively transport us inside a play which unfurls before our eyes like a dream.

dmercer@somdnews.com

If you go

The Newtowne Players will perform the "The Fantasticks" through Nov. 22. Performances will be at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, students and military. Produced by Gloria Ranta, music by Diane Trautman, lights by David V. Groupe, choreography by Mike Bell and costumes by Anne Schwartz. Three Notch Theatre is at 21744 S. Coral Drive, Lexington Park.

Call 301-737-5447.

For more information, go to www.newtowneplayers.org.