Theatre Three’s Production of ‘The Fantasticks’ Hits All the Right Notes
By Cindi Sansone-Braff
When it comes to ‘The Fantasticks’, the 1960s musical fable with the book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, just try to remember a time when this show wasn’t mesmerizing audiences; I bet you can’t! The original off-Broadway production of this tale of two matchmaking fathers faking a feud and using reverse psychology to trick their children into falling in love, ran a whopping total of 42 years, making it the world’s longest-running musical.
This highly theatrical parable about love has touches of allegory and many allusions to Shakespeare and other literary works. Based on the 1894 play “Les Romanesques” by Edmond Rostand, this musical is theatre at its best because it forces the audience to use their imagination to fill in the blanks. An almost bare stage with a platform and a few set pieces, props pulled out of a box, archetypal characters, music, dance, mime, handfuls of confetti, and poetic dialogue all come together to create an illusionary world, where the audience can momentarily lose themselves in the magic of theatrical storytelling.
From the moment Theatre Three regular Steve McCoy, as The Narrator, gave his beautiful rendition of the hit song, Try to Remember, imploring the audience to follow … follow … follow him to an illusory world of moonlight and magic, the wonder begins. Mr. McCoy also gave a standout performance as El Gallo. He is charismatic, sexy, and mysterious; everything a good stage villain should be!
Under the skillful direction of Jeffrey Sanzel and the exacting precision of Jeffrey Hoffman, the Musical Director, this strong ensemble cast brought this timeless tale of young love to life.
The onstage chemistry between Matt/The Boy played by Matthew Joseph Hoffman, and Luisa/The Girl played by Meg Bush was electrifying. Both of these romantic leads gave outstanding performances.
Michelle LaBozzetta proved to be an adept mime artist in her role as The Mute. Her facial expressions and graceful movements spoke volumes.
The comically feuding fathers, Huckabee portrayed by Jeffrey Hoffman, and Bellamy played by Kyle Imperatore, had the audience roaring with laughter. Jeffrey Hoffman’s piano playing added a touch of excitement to the production, and when Steve McCoy and Kyle Imperatore jumped in to play the piano the transitions were seamless. By the way, the actors playing all the instruments on stage, including Meg Bush playing the flute and guitar, and Matthew Joseph Hoffman playing the saxophone, added to the overall success of this production.
Steven Uihlein as Mortimer/The Man Who Dies and Jeffrey Sanzel as Henry/The Old Actor both gave powerful
performances in their many hilarious roles. The battle scene, where El Gallo, Mortimer, Henry, and Matt got to display their stylized combat skills, was riveting; and Mr. Sanzel, Mr. Hoffman, and Mr. McCoy all got to display their comedic acting talents as they feigned their deaths at the hands of Matt, acting like a knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress, Luisa.
Over the years, many of the songs in this show have become romantic musical standards, and I could hear the audience happily humming and singing along. Sari Feldman’s breathtaking choreography held the audience spellbound. My personal favorite dance numbers were Round and Round and The Abduction.
It Depends on What You Pay, a song about a staged kidnapping, has inspired some controversary, and over the years, Mr. Jones, the lyricist, has almost completely rewritten the lyrics. The original lyrics to the song used the word “rape”, which in the traditional literary sense of the word meant abduction or to take by force. In this incarnation of the song, and the version Theatre Three used, the word “rape” was replaced by the more appropriate word “raid”.
The fun costumes were designed by Chakira Doherty, sound design was by Tim Haggerty, lighting design by the talented Robert W. Henderson, Jr, and the scenic design was by Randall Parsons.
Theatre Three’s mesmerizing, magical, and memorable performance of the musical theater classic “The Fantasticks” is a must-see! The show runs through August 15, 2021. For tickets, call the box office: (631) 928-1130, Monday-Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm or visit their websites at www.TheatreThree.com.
Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She has a BFA from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatist Guilds. She is the author of two self-help books, Grant Me a Higher Love and Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships.