Looking for a good way to avoid homework this weekend? Instead of another party at Bissman or a night in your room playing DragonAge, consider seeing a show. Effie’s Players production of the off-Broadway classic “The Fantasticks” is a quirky, charming and fun way to spend your evening.
Founded years ago, the student-run theatre group is in its second year back after a long hiatus. Last year they gave us “Frozen,” a chilling, dark and powerful piece about child murder and pedophilia, so this year the time was right for something more light-hearted. And “Fantasticks” was the perfect choice.
Written in 1960, “The Fantasticks” didn’t close off-broadway until 2002, making it the longest running musical ever. The plot centers around two fathers who hatch an elaborate plan to get their children to fall in love — and the elaborate disasters that befall them along the way.
Effie’s player’s production, directed by Yassi Davoodi ’11, faces a lot of challenges, but I think it’s sufficient to say it rises to the occasion. The cast is young, made up entirely of first-years and sophomores. The production values aren’t high — the set and costumes are minimalist, including a sun and moon made of cardboard and arrays of boxes which serve as trees. But the script pokes fun at the set, and characters break the fourth wall just enough that the haphazardness is clearly intentional. And the cast has a vibrant energy and enthusiasm which makes their inexperience seem less important.
Two elements deserve credit for really making the show’s metatheatric conventions work. A pair of ‘mutes,’ played by Valerie Monzena ’12 and Alex Horning ’13, provide grade-school-like effects and become additional set pieces in a very endearing way. And Malcolm Campbell-Taylor ’13 serves as a sort of greek chorus, opening and closing both acts.
Campbell-Taylor also steals the show as the melodramatic bandit/magician El Gallo, once again turning in an over-the-top performance that alone makes it worth it to see this show. Lauren Tweddale ’13, as the ‘slightly mad’ young lover Louisa, holds her own against him, though, and holds parts of the show together with her stage presence. Her voice is beautiful as well, and although some of her songs are out of her range, she never seems like she’s reaching.
Aside from El Gallo, all the characters in the show are mostly divided into pairs — the fathers, the lovers, the mutes and a pair of washed-out Shakespearian actors El Gallo hires to help out with his schemes. Although they vary in their musical and acting abilities, one thing each pair has in spades is chemistry. The rapport the actors establish with their primary costars are all wonderful, and the best moments of the show are duets and scenes where they get to play off each other. Ben Caroli ’12 and Miles Batson ’12, as the two fathers, were especially fun to watch.
There’s an old stage adage that says if you’re having fun, the audience will too. That is really the one thing that makes this show enjoyable. The show isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s so much energy and enthusiasm radiating from everyone on stage that you can’t help but be taken in by it.
“The Fantasticks” runs Saturday at 8:15 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in Schoolroy Theatre. Tickets are free, but seating is limited, so come early if you want a good seat.
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