Review: THE FANTASTICKS at Kansas City Reportory Theatre

An inspired piano overture flows smoothly into "The Fantasticks" signature opening song; "Try To Remember." "The Fantasticks" is a simple fable for all time about a boy, a girl, their two fathers, and a wall. Kansas City Repertory Theatre reinvents "The Fantasticks," history's most performed musical play, with an all-star cast, expanded musical accompaniment, and a lavish new setting.

There has been a television special, a motion picture, and more than 20,000 stage productions of "Fantasticks." The play opened with little fanfare, a $200 set, and the then unknown Jerry Orbach in the dual role of Narrator / El Gallo on May 3, 1960 and ran continuously in the same theatre for 42 years. The show closed briefly after the World Trade Center disaster only to be re-opened in a new theater named in memory of Jerry Orbach; its original leading man. It continues to run in New York to this day.

Authors Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt would be blown away at the scale and performance quality of their work in this production at KCRep. Director Jerry Genochio has searched out an all-star cast. Set Designer Martin Andrew has given the audience an illusion of being in the round without actually going there. The set is actually a three quarter thrust with about 100 audience members seated upstage of the actors. The set's centerpieces are a series of Victorian style street lights and platform levels all cleverly disguised as luggage. Four of the largest trunks hide trap doors that allow the actors to appear and disappear into the trunks. Choreographer Richard J. Hinds has imagined dancing that far surpasses what is possible with most casts. These actors fully realize Choreographer Hinds vision to the delight of the audience.

But back to our story. The boy (Matt) is young, callow, and (of course) in love with a deliciously naïve girl (Luisa). She lives next door. Their two fathers (Hucklebee and Bellomy) are wholly in favor of a union between their children and coincidentally their gardens. Children being children, the fathers conjure an imaginary feud and conspire to manipulate Matt and Luisa. The fathers hire a bandit to abduct the girl so that the boy might save her. The scheme elaborately plays out as a comic ballet. The match is made. Love is triumphant. But as Act 1 ends, all may not be as rosy as it first appears.

The Narrator/El Gallo is Andrew Varela fresh from Broadway and tours of "Les Miserables" as Javert and as the Phantom himself in "Phantom of the Opera." Varela is excellent as our narrator and bandit. He plays everything we could hope to see. He is hero/villain/lover/bandit/and special presence. Varela's strong baritone conquers the challenging score.

Our two meddling Fathers are brought to life by Larry Marshall and Gary Neal Johnson. Kansas City audiences know Gary Neal Johnson as their annual personification of Ebenezer Scrooge and dozens of other characters. KC audiences will remember Larry Marshall from the cast of "Hair" reimagined in 2015. He was also in the original Broadway cast of "Hair" in the 1970s. These guys are perfect, funny, sensitive, and talented. Everything they do is a highlight, but the second act hat and cane routine "Plant A Turnip" brings down the house.

Matt, our romantic boy lead, is Zane Phillips. Zane makes his first appearance at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Phillips is cast perfectly with a proper dash of yearning, the recent memory of a first love, and enough of the right mix of worldliness along with a strong tenor voice. He has been previously seen regionally in "Gypsy," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "My Fair Lady," "Miss Saigon," "Titanic," "1776," and "Ragtime."

Luisa, Matt's neighbor girl, is Emily Shackleford. Emily has worked with the KCRep in "Stillwater" and last years', "Hair Retrospection." Emily makes Luisa her own. Her young sounding soprano is exactly what Luisa should sound like. Emily is tremendously light on her feet and this ability elevates the dance of the entire cast. She understands Luisa intimately and subtly shows us her character's development throughout the show's transformation.

Remaining in major roles are Henry (the old classical actor) and Mortimer (whose talent is death scenes). Lyricist Tom Jones himself played Henry on stage for many years in the original production under a pseudonym. Our Henry, Peggy Friesen, and Mortimer, Merle Moores, have taken tiny roles and proven that "there are no small parts." Both are hysterical.

"Fantasticks" is not an easy play either musically or with its romantic dialog mostly written in verse. These actors squeeze out every nuance of romance and humor out of the Schmidt and Jones libretto.

The lead song in "Fantasticks" is "Try to Remember," followed by "Metaphor," Soon, It's Going To Rain," "Plant a Tulip," "It Depends On What You Pay," "Beyond That Road," "There Was You," and others.

"Fantasticks" continues its run at the KC Rep Spencer Theatre through April 10. If you love musical plays, this is one you don't want to miss. You will leave the theater with a smile on your face guaranteed. Tickets are available at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre website (www.kcrep.org) or by telephone at 816-235-2700.

Photo credit to Kansas City Repertory Theatre

To post a comment, you must register and login.