The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks
Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Directed by Roy Alan
Musical Direction by Chris Levey
Starring Shawn Kilgore, Molly Jackson, and Dustin Russell
Winter Park Playhouse
Winter Park, FL</strong>
Kids these day. Or kids, any other days from Cain and Able right up to now. They talk a good story, and what they lack in skills they make up for in bravado. In this highly stylized world there are two families feuding, but it’s no ancient grudge. Rather, it’s a pair of cagey parents who secretly want Luisa (Jackson) and Matt (Russell) to marry but cleverly tell they can’t see each other. Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest and it’s growing well in this garden. On the left we have Bellomy (David Thome) who believes in serious watering; on the right we have Hucklebee (Glenn Glover) who trims his way to award winning kumquats. In order to give the kids a good send off the parents hire an actor and narrator El Gallo (Kilgore) to attempt abduct Luisa and then let Matt save her. For safety reason this is done in the form of Morris Dancing, an obscure English Marshal art that involves hitting people very slowly with sticks and then buying them beer. But the kids uncover the ruse; the reality of housekeeping overwhelms lust; and Matt takes off to get his ass kicked by the world.
Kilgore is the steady voice in this fun and stylized drama. His “September Song” is the one real hit here, and he’s more than up to singing it. His “It Depends on What You Pay” with Thome and Glover is nearly as good, but too show-specific to make a good standalone hit. Another interesting song that never made it out of this show is “Plant a Radish, Get a radish” which came out much better here than in previous productions around town. This duet between the parents works here because of the kids on stage actions; in other productions I’ve found this tune cloying. Luisa sings the most soulful tunes; “Much More” and her duet with Matt “They Were You” hit the heartstrings.
While all this lovey-dovey splits Ville drives the action the shows was stolen by the comedy duet of Todd Allen Long and recently refurbished Michael Edwards as Mortimore and Henry. Henry is prone of over acting and quotating Shakespeare out of context, Mortimer looks to the Tonto Collection to bring us to comic tears. This pair makes a comedy team that both cerebral and physical; its vaudeville channeled through the bleary eye of time and overwrought emotions the up and down romance. This show hasn’t been seen in town since 2010 by my reckoning; it’s a simple yet layered story that zips along and gives all of us someone to empathize with.
For more information on Winter Park Playhouse, please visit http://www.winterparkplayhouse.org
