"The Fantasticks" is Fantastic

Last night I went to see the preview of The Fantasticks at Willoughby Fine Arts Association and it was really great. And I'm not just saying that because Jon Erik is in it.

It was very funny, a little bitter sweet. The two young men in the production (tenors) were obviously scraping the bottom of their ranges in their baritone-ish roles, but their diction was crisp enough to carry the lyrics. Otherwise the singing was great -- clear, perfectly tuned. I was particularly impressed with the female lead. The part calls for a very agile soprano -- someone with classical training as oppossed to a Broadway belt -- and she definitely had it.

The cast was mostly local veteran actors, who were able to add depth to their characters. The players were particularly funny, with stage personas on top of well developed actor-characters. Of course the one not-so-veteran is Jon Erik. (Love you honey!) He's in no danger of overplaying his part with grandios gestures, but it's a solid performance, he moves well, and it shows a great deal of growth in his acting abilities.

I've always thought that The Fantasticks is self-conciously theatric as written, but this production played that up. Improvised bumbling in the dark before and after each act reminded the audience that the ensemble was creating a scene. The musicians, visibly positioned behind the main platform on the set instead of in the pit, were a reminder of artifice of music theatre. The Mute sprinked glitter rain and paper snow. The spare set consisted of a multilevel platform, a few boxes, a stool, two leafless trees and a big steamer trunk from which props and people were produced.

A kid in the audience was overheard saying, "I think there are stairs inside that box." Yeah, you know it's Brechtian when a grade-schooler is pointing out the mechanics of the show.

P.S. For any of you planning on seeing it, I will be attending the performances on Sunday 6/11, Saturday 6/17, and Saturday 6/24.