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"The Fantasticks' at the Kimmel
Steve Cohen
Try to remember (why this show caught on in the first place)
STEVE COHEN
There must be a reason why The Fantasticks set records as the longest-running Broadway or Off-Broadway show of all time. Perhaps it’s the innocence of the young lovers or perhaps the gentle skewering of adolescent passion by their parents, with which older viewers can relate. Beats me.
I’m inclined to give this saccharine 1960 musical allegory the benefit of all doubts because (a) I enjoyed it when I was a young man myself, and (b) I met one of the composers. But try as I might, the last couple of times I’ve seen and heard the show, The Fantasticks didn’t impress me.
The kids are less ingratiating than those in Frank Wedekind's 1891 adolescent drama Spring Awakening and less entertaining than the teenagers in John Waters's Hairspray. The songs are pleasant enough, but you must sit through very long stretches of trite dialogue between them.
None of this is the fault of director Tony Braithwaite and his cast of relative newcomers in the new production at the Kimmel Center. They try hard, but the material lets them down. Best in the cast is Eileen Cella as the 15-year-old girl, Luisa. She’s adorable, looks appropriately young and moves like a dancer. Turns out that she has a nice voice as well. Owen Pelesh as her boyfriend possesses a pleasant top range, but his voice thins out dangerously when he sings mid-range and lower, as in "Soon It’s Gonna Rain."
Joe Mallon as the narrator, El Gallo, is efficient but never inhabits the core of the show as he should. Mallon is too frenetic. The part works better when the actor is a jaded observer who’s seen the world and views it with detached bemusement— say, like Jerry Orbach in the original. The rest of the cast is competent.
Braithwaite’s direction includes many expressive gestures that he himself made famous on local stages. But no one can do those takes as effectively as Braithwaite himself.
Granted, my view of The Fantasticks runs counter to box office records over the past nearly-half-century. Maybe the show’s appeal has gone out of date. Or maybe, in today’s dangerous and complicated world, there’s more need than ever for lightweight simple entertainment like The Fantasticks. Many attendees Saturday night came out of curiosity, saying they’d never seen the play but knew its one big hit song. And the woman two seats away from me had never even heard "Try to Remember" before. Most of the packed house seemed to enjoy itself.
To read responses, click here.
STEVE COHEN
There must be a reason why The Fantasticks set records as the longest-running Broadway or Off-Broadway show of all time. Perhaps it’s the innocence of the young lovers or perhaps the gentle skewering of adolescent passion by their parents, with which older viewers can relate. Beats me.
I’m inclined to give this saccharine 1960 musical allegory the benefit of all doubts because (a) I enjoyed it when I was a young man myself, and (b) I met one of the composers. But try as I might, the last couple of times I’ve seen and heard the show, The Fantasticks didn’t impress me.
The kids are less ingratiating than those in Frank Wedekind's 1891 adolescent drama Spring Awakening and less entertaining than the teenagers in John Waters's Hairspray. The songs are pleasant enough, but you must sit through very long stretches of trite dialogue between them.
None of this is the fault of director Tony Braithwaite and his cast of relative newcomers in the new production at the Kimmel Center. They try hard, but the material lets them down. Best in the cast is Eileen Cella as the 15-year-old girl, Luisa. She’s adorable, looks appropriately young and moves like a dancer. Turns out that she has a nice voice as well. Owen Pelesh as her boyfriend possesses a pleasant top range, but his voice thins out dangerously when he sings mid-range and lower, as in "Soon It’s Gonna Rain."
Joe Mallon as the narrator, El Gallo, is efficient but never inhabits the core of the show as he should. Mallon is too frenetic. The part works better when the actor is a jaded observer who’s seen the world and views it with detached bemusement— say, like Jerry Orbach in the original. The rest of the cast is competent.
Braithwaite’s direction includes many expressive gestures that he himself made famous on local stages. But no one can do those takes as effectively as Braithwaite himself.
Granted, my view of The Fantasticks runs counter to box office records over the past nearly-half-century. Maybe the show’s appeal has gone out of date. Or maybe, in today’s dangerous and complicated world, there’s more need than ever for lightweight simple entertainment like The Fantasticks. Many attendees Saturday night came out of curiosity, saying they’d never seen the play but knew its one big hit song. And the woman two seats away from me had never even heard "Try to Remember" before. Most of the packed house seemed to enjoy itself.
To read responses, click here.
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