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The Fantasticks Come to Town, Washington Street Players

by Ceci LeBeau
4/23/2016

The Fantasticks Come To Town - Washington Street Players

A delightful love story never grows old. Based on Les Romanesques by Edmond Rostand, also the author of Cyrano de Bergerac, this musical tale tells of Matt and Luisa, who are young neighbors and in love as long as a wall separates them. Their freshness and innocence is sung and acted admirably by Andrew Emmons and Emily Bendremer . "Try to Remember," the keynote ballad of this play, became a hit on its own and was covered by artists from Harry Belafonte to Barbra Streisand. As lustily belted out by a superb baritone, Rob Klimeczko, as El Gallo, the song carries a nostalgia for simpler times.

Matt and Luisa's fathers, however, cannot resist meddling. As portrayed by Rich Greaves and Steve Lillis, Hucklebee and Bellomy share a backyard and a garden. They cleverly sing of how to manipulate children, you merely say "no." Truly, they wish their children to marry. Convinced that by staging an abduction Matt and Luisa's romance will be complete, they hire the mysterious El Gallo and his bumbling assistants Henry and Mortimer to carry Luisa off and give Matt a chance to bravely save her. Henry, as played by Nate Callahan, specializes in Shakepeare soliloquies, or so he thinks. Mortimer, as played by Karen Dinehart, specializes in hammy death scenes. They both provide comic relief. Rounding out the cast is Danielle Aucoin as the Mute, who serves as a silent but smiling props mistress.

With much swashbuckling swordplay, Matt finds to his surprise that he can fend off all three would-be abductors. Luisa swoons with admiration. But when Matt brags of his conquest, his ever chatty father reveals that it was a hoax. Once the young lovers realize they have been set up, their frustrations boil over and they want nothing more to do with each other. The play takes a dark turn as they travel the world without each other in fantasy sequences. The choreography shines as the now sinister El Gallo masterfully manipulates Matt as a puppeteer, and then glides in and out of Luisa's dreams as dance partner and deluding tour guide. Because the characters are figures in a legend their artlessness is winning. The theater goer is delighted with their inevitable reunion.

Opening in 1960, "The Fantasticks" has defied most Broadway conventions. With its bare bones set, small cast, and orchestra of two, it started in a tiny Greenwich Village theater and then ran for an astonishing 42 years. It outlasted nine presidents, six mayors, four decades and "enough city blackouts, bailouts and blizzards to fill a stack of almanacs," according to the New York Times. Jerry Orbach, now best known for NBC's Law and Order, played El Gallo so many times that there is now an intersection in Times Square, and a theater, named after him. Once, when Ed Ames sang "Try to Remember" on the Tonight Show, the response was so overwhelming that Johnny Carson asked him to come back and sing it again. The play was turned into a television special and a movie, and employed actors who went on to win Tonys, Emmys and Oscars. Tom Jones, who wrote the book and lyrics, was quoted as saying "It's meant to be a celebration and a send-up of young love. It's supposed to touch you and also make you think how stupid it all is."

Part of its charm is that it knocks down the "fourth wall," in that the action is narrated, as in Thornton Wilder's Our Town. The songs draw on a variety of theatrical styles and themes, including A Midsummer Night's Dream. Matt's solo of yearning to learn has echoes of West Side Story's "Something's Coming." Luisa's solo is wistful as she sings of wanting to "Go to town in a golden gown/And have my fortune told." The line that lingers, though, is that "Deep in December/ It's nice to remember/ Without a hurt/ The heart is hollow."

Don't miss this refreshing take on a timeless tale. It's worth the price of admission just to hear Rob Klimenczko sing and see his dashing El Gallo. The Washington Street Players will be performing it April 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 8:00 pm, and May 1 at 3 pm, at the Dancing Arts Center, 9 Whitney Street, Holliston. Tickets can be bought at the door. The seating is intimate. It consists of two rows of wooden chairs (which got hard, so bringing a cushion from home is advisable) and cushioned, rising bleachers (with no backs.) But a good view can be had from any seat.