Island City Stage Kicks Off Its 13th Season With THE FANTASTICKS

Off-Broadway's longest-running and most beloved musical, The Fantasticks, will kick off Island City Stage’s 13th South Florida Season beginning October 17. Audiences are in for a treat with twist with during Island City Stage’s South Florida premiere of this reimagined version by original librettist and lyricist Tom Jones featuring two young compelling gay leads. The show will run through November 17, 2024.

“‘The Fantasticks’ is the classic it is for a reason - it’s a beautiful story with a sumptuous score,” said Andy Rogow, artistic director of Island City Stage. “This new same-sex version just makes it all the more relatable to the fans, like me, who wore out their albums listening to it. We worked hard to obtain the rights to perform this version and I'm sure our audiences will fall in love with the show all over again.”

The Fantasticks is an allegorical story loosely based on Edmund Rostand's 1894 play The Romancers (Les Romanesques), concerning two neighboring parents who trick their children into falling in love by pretending to feud. The LGBTQIA+ focused rewrite features two young gay men, Matt and Lewis, at the center of the story, instead of a young man and woman (the original characters were Matt and Luisa).

According to Playbill, during its original run at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, The Fantasticks logged a record-breaking 17,162 performances. When the original production closed in 2002, news of the closing made the front page of The New York Times. In 2006, the revival opened at The Theater Center, directed by Jones. That production closed June 4, 2017, after playing 4,390 performances in the Jerry Orbach Theatre, for a combined total of 21,552 performances in New York—still the longest-running musical production worldwide. Over the years, notable names who have appeared in the Off-Broadway and touring productions have included Liza Minnelli, Elliott Gould, F. Murray Abraham, Glenn Close, Keith Charles, Carole Demas, Kristin Chenoweth and Bert Convy. This newly revised version of the classic show premiered in 2022 in Michigan.

Island City Stage’s production of The Fantasticks is directed by Rogow and stars Jonny Lee Jr. (Lewis), Kevin Hincapie (Matt) Jesse Luttrell (El Gallo), Margot Moreland (Mildred), Michael Gioia (Henry); Rayner Gabriel (Mortimer); Louie San Luis (Mute) and Jeni Hacker (Bessie).

Actor, singer, and writer Jonny Lee Jr. was most recently seen as Bobby Bob in Soft Power Bobby (Signature Theatre). He has starred in several world premiere musicals - as Lit Ning in Gold Mountain the Musical (The Utah Shakespeare Festival), Kenny in The Dragon King’s Daughter (Kennedy Center), and Yun inEastbound (Village Theatre). Other credits include Manjiro in Pacific Overtures (Signature Theatre), Thuy in Miss Saigon (Kansas City Starlight Midwest Tour), Ching Ho in Thoroughly Modern Mille (Broward Stage Door), and Ito in Mame (Broward Stage Door).

Miami native Kevin Hincapie is a first-generation Colombian American New World School of the Arts graduate making his Island City Stage debut. His most recent credits include Bobby in A Chorus Line, Jose in In the Heights, Frederick in Young Frankenstein, The Prom, Perry Como in Memphis, Custard in Tale of Custard The Dragon (Custard) and JoJo in Newsies.

Hailed as “dazzling” by legendary Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, Jesse Luttrell is a proud New Yorker returning to South Florida to make his Island City Stage debut. He’s been touring the country since childhood playing such roles as Dracula, Sweeney Todd, Frank-N-Furter in Rocky Horror, Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger in Cats, Emcee in Cabaret, and Bill Sikes in Oliver! He’s played Gaston in Beauty and the Beast multiple times and has also enjoyed an international concert career playing major nightclubs. He is also a trained ballet dancer.

Award-winning actress Margot Moreland was last seen in The Prom (Slow Burn Theatre) and returns to Island City Stage for The Fantasticks. She received a Carbonell for Ruthless!, Heartbeats, Tomfoolery, and Annie; the Silver Palm for Mamma Mia! (Actors’ Playhouse, Theatre Aspen and Maltz Jupiter) and the Bill Hindman Carbonell in 2022. A proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA, her other favorites performances include I Love You…Now Change, Memphis, Zombie Prom, Gypsy, Shear Madness (Kennedy Center and US), Les Misérables, She Loves Me, Fat Pig, Stripped, Dr. Radio and Disaster!

Actor, director and playwright Michael Gioia is making his Island City Stage debut. Gioia has worked in many South Florida theatres, appearing most recently inSweet Goats and Blueberry Señoritas (Actors Playhouse), Refuge (Theatre Lab) and Grand Horizons (Boca Stage). He is an Ensemble company member with New City Players and was the owner and executive director of The Acting School of South Florida.

Rayner Gabriel was most recently seen as Peter in 1000 Miles (New City Players), and as Hector MacQueen in Murder on the Orient Express (Maltz Jupiter Theater). In addition to the stage, Gabriel is a rapper and songwriter. His original music can be found on all streaming platforms under the name “Rayner G.”

After six years away from acting, Louie San Luis will be making his comeback at Island City Stage. He has previously graced the stage in productions The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Hair, Rent, The King and I, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Mame at Lake Worth Playhouse. Other notable performances include Mamewith Leslie Uggams and Beauty and the Beast (Wick Theatre), as well as In the Heights at Showtime. Luis’ other credits feature Take Me Out (Rising Action),Making Porn (Empire Stage), and Murder Mystery Dinner.

Jeni Hacker is an actress, singer, dancer and choreographer based in Miami. She is a seven- time Carbonell award winner for roles such as Diana in Next to Normal, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Helen in Fun Home, Fosca in Passion, Connie in After (Zoetic Stage), Jean in The Actors and Mom in Grindr Mom (Ronnie Larsen Presents). Other recent credits include Witch in Into the Woods (Slowburn Theatre), Rose in Caroline or Change, Poppy in Noises Off, Aunt Sheila in It Shoulda Been You and Fay in Wicked Child (Zoetic Stage). She has also appeared in Everything is Super Great (TheatreLab), Our Town (Miami New Drama), Les Misérables (Maltz Jupiter Theater) and The Most Happy Fella (Palm Beach Dramaworks).

The Fantasticks is co-produced by Michael Mullins & Terry Gaw and Mark Loeser & The Opening Doors Charitable Trust. Lights and Sound Sponsor is Scott Bennett and Set Sponsor is Glenn Goldberg. Additional funding is provided by the following: The Our Fund Foundation, The Schubert Foundation Inc., The SHS Foundation, The Maval Foundation, The Warten Foundation and the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council.

Island City Stage’s 2024-25 season of powerful storytelling focusing on the nature of families also includes the upcoming shows Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance from January 16 – February 9, 2025, Fat Ham by James Ijames from April 3 – May 4, 2025; The Dying Gaul by Craig Lucas from May 22 – June 15, 2025 and At The Wedding by Bryna Turner from August 21 – September 21, 2025.

Individual show tickets start at $50. A Mimosa Sunday Brunch sponsored by Dr. Deborah Floyd will take place on October 27 with tickets at $65. The show runs for two hours and 30 minutes with an intermission.

Island City Stage will also be offering two Flexpass options this season. The Flexpass5 ($215) offers five tickets that can be used all for one show or one for every show (no processing fees) and $5 off additional tickets purchased ($52 upfront savings). The Flexpass3 ($130) offers three tickets that can be used all for one show or one for every show (no processing fees) and $5 off additional tickets purchased ($33 upfront savings). Discounts are available for groups.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.islandcitystage.org, call (954) 928-9800 or email boxoffice@islandcitystage.org. Follow Island City Stage on Facebook at facebook.com/IslandCityStageFL and on Instagram at @islandcitystage1.

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