Hope Rep’s “Fantasticks” lives up to its name
HOLLAND, Mich.—On opening night of Hope Summer Repertory Theatre’s final production of the summer, The Fantasticks, its fawn-like leading lady, Emily Brett, an elegant tiny dancer songbird of a woman, tripped while making her entrance and skinned her left knee. She made it look intentional, like part of the choreography, and seamlessly carried on to perform several numbers of the first act as the audience worried for the bright red gash seeping through her tights and the knee swelling before our very eyes. But she returned with her next entrance unscathed, an invisible band-aid covering the wound, and gracefully sang sweetly and danced the demanding balletic choreography like a pro.
And her little ordeal ended up working as foreshadowing in this seemingly anointed production. Her character leaps with gusto into the youthful promise and possibility of life and love yet to be experienced, is knocked down by its harsher realities, and yet still chooses love.
It’s a message and a metaphor for all of us, and comes as if guided by a power beyond our control, much as the action of this play within a play unfolds as orchestrated by its narrator, El Gallo.
This particular production of the world’s longest-running musical (opened in 1960 and ran for 42 years; the 2006 Broadway revival is still going) is exquisite. Magnificently cast and beautifully staged, director and choreographer Joe Niesen has created a work of art that is utterly captivating and works on a symbolic level at every turn—both literal and figurative, deliberate and, apparently, unintentional.
This beloved allegorical love story by Tom Jones with music by Harvey Schmidt is based on the play The Romancers by Edmond Rostand, a kind of mash-up of elements from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Nights’ Dream as well as Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.
Next door neighbors fall in love, and their fathers orchestrate a twisted plot that involves a theatre troupe staging a fake abduction in which Matt can heroically rescue Luisa, and therefore cinch their love. Their wonderment and infatuation turns sour in the light of day, they part, go off and get hurt, and then reconnect, a little wounded, a little wiser.
It’s a deceptively simple premise, as is the artful design. The scenic design by Tyler M. Perry focuses on a circular raised platform center stage mirrored by a circular cut out lined with light bulbs and ladders framing the cyclorama that shifts from moon to sun with lighting designed by Peter E. Sargent. Plot and subplot, imaginings and reality, take place simultaneously at times, with brilliant use of these separate spaces by the actors. A large striped chest is an additional platform on which the actors play and into which they sometimes disappear.
“Round and Round” is the apex song, and by the time its sinister twists and turns arrive, the symbolism of the design has prepared the audience to enter it fully. Even the choreography here spirals and turns, and Emily Brett as Luisa expertly (and most certainly deliberately) falls out of her fouette turns, symbolizing the larger movement through which she’s going, from innocent to knowing, a fall of sorts we all must endure.
Brett is spritely, her dancing spry, and her soprano operatic. She sings wonderful duets with Nate DeCook as Matt, who is earnest, and also sings the often high-pitched part with depth. Music Director Fred Tessler creates magic with these voices, and plays half of the orchestra which also includes Meg Rodgers on harp.
The success of this show can rest on the actor who plays El Gallo, and Daniel Lindgren’s charm is effortlessly seductive, pulling the audience into the world he’s creating. His “Try to Remember” is warm and rich, never saccharine. He balances whimsy with the right touch of sinister and takes every opportunity to connect to the audience, literally occupying the aisles of the theatre and quietly interacting with people in their seats.
In this eight-person cast, every actor seems at the top of their game. Tom Bengston and Chip DuFord are wonderful as the fathers; Tom Emmott is highly amusing as the old actor Henry; Bryce Michael Wood is spectacular as his chiseled girlie-voiced sidekick Mortimer. And perhaps most outstanding is Chaz Arnett Sanders as the lithe and sinewy glitter-tossing Mute who speaks volumes with his beautifully expressive face and body. An astounding acrobat and dancer with swagger and style in spades, his performance is magnificent.
Everyone is expertly dressed in costumes by Kristen P. Ahern that are beautifully constructed and designed to highlight movement and character. Made mostly of brightly colored plaids and stripes, with dapper hats and suspenders, they’re out of time, really, neither contemporary nor belonging to a particular age, and perfectly whimsical.
It may be one of the most often produced musicals the world over, but Director Joe Niesen has made certain this show is uncommon in its excellence. With great care for a brilliant concept supported by every actor, every member of the design team, this Fantasticks succeeds as a true work of art.