Great Lakes Theater (GLT), Cleveland's Classic Company, concludes its 2016-17 season with the classic musical, The Fantasticks. The production will be performed in the company's intimate and audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, Playhouse Square, May 13-29, 2016. Victoria Bussert directs the production. The Fantasticks is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
Generous support for The Fantasticks was provided by the Kulas Foundation. The production is part of the Kulas Musical Theater Series at Great Lakes Theater. Production support was also generously provided by John and Barbara Schubert. Great Lakes Theater is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Season support is provided by The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. Media sponsors for GLT's 54th season are The FORM Group, Ideastream (WCLV 104.9 FM and WCPN 90.3 FM) and WKSU 89.7 FM.
A charming and romantic musical about one young couple, two "feuding" fathers and an infinite love that transcends over time, The Fantasticks whimsically whisks audiences on a journey of imagination into a world of moonlight, magic and memory. Along the way, love is found, lost and rediscovered again after a poignant realization that "without a hurt, the heart is hollow."
Director Victoria Bussert balances the professional and academic worlds, dividing her time between an active career as an award-winning freelance director while holding the position of Director of Music Theatre for Baldwin Wallace University. Nationally, her work has been seen at Manhattan Theatre Club, York Theatre, New World Stages, Goodspeed Opera, Playhouse Square, Portland Stage, Dallas Theatre Center, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Pegasus Players, Anchorage Opera, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Play House and Beck Center for the Arts, among others. Her international credits include Friar Tuck in Russia, The Who's Tommy in Brazil, the Danish premiere of Avenue Q (2012 Reumert Award nomination) and the European premieres of [title of show] and Lizzie for the Fredericia Teater in Denmark. Prior to her teaching career, Victoria served as associate director for Great Lakes Theater and continues her long association with the company as resident director, most recently directing the award-winning The Secret Garden. Upcoming projects include My Fair Lady for Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Forever Plaid for Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival and West Side Story for Baldwin Wallace University.
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