The Fantasticks at Barrington Stage Company
Creator Tom Jones Discusses Longest Running Musical
By: Charles Giuliano - Oct 12, 2009
The Fantasticks
Music by Harvey Schmidt, Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
Directed by Andrew Volkoff; Musical Direction, Christopher D. Littlefield; Choreography by Janet Watson; Scenic design, Sam Craig; Costumes, Kristina Lucka; Lighting, Jeff Davis; Sound, Brad Berridge; Stage Manager, Renee Lutz; Casting, Pat McCorkle, CSA; Press, Charlie Sidenburg; Musicians, Piano, Christopher D. Littlefield; Harp, Teresa Mango.
Cast: Dana DeLisa (Luisa), Darin DePaul (Hucklebee), Jonathan Karp (The Mute), John-Charles Kelly (Bellomy), Cory Michael Smith (Matt), Bob Sorenson (Mortimer), Gordon Stanley (Henry), and Steve Wilson (El Gallo).
Barrington Stage Company
30 Union Street Pittsfield, Mass.
October 7 through October 18
The Barrington Stage Company production of the perennial, heart warming musical The Fantasticks is exactly that, Fantastick.
The only quibble is that the show, which Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt opened in 1960, and has been running somewhere in the world ever since, is having an all too brief run at Barrington Stage through October 18.
Truth is that this version of the wonderful, warm and fuzz musical, directed with all the right stuff by Andrew Volkoff, could run in Pittsfield from now till the cows come home. Let's hope they do the right thing and extend this show, or move it to the more intimate Second Stage, and just keep it going and going and going.
Just as was the case when the show originally opened in May of 1960, at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York, and closed on January 13, 2002 after 17, 162 performances. It has been revived at the Jerry Orbach Theatre where it has now passed the benchmark of its first 1,000 performances.
There have been more than 22,000 global productions of the musical which was rewritten on a deadline of just three weeks for a summer festival production at Barnard College. "And I have seen every one of those productions" quipped the octogenarian from Texas, Tom Jones, who wrote the book and lyrics. Jones engaged in a charming and witty conversation with Barrington's Artistic Director, Julianne Boyd. The dialogue on stage occurred after the Sunday matinee and the audience was invited to attend and ask questions. Jones lives in Connecticut and it is a great tribute to Boyd and Barrington stage that he consented to this delightful meet and greet with the audience.
In appreciation of that effort Boyd commented to me that "I hope I have his remarkable energy when I am in my 80s." Jones is still working, currently, on a project to stick it to the critics.
Following that workshop premiere at Barnard they were advised that the musical, a whimsical conflation of "Romeo and Juliet," including outbursts of verse in the manner of The Bard, with a touch of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," might have potential to open off Broadway. "We were advised to close after opening night so we would save a week's salary" Jones recalled. "It opened to mixed reviews."
This was followed by a stinging remark about those damned critics. Later I introduced myself and shook his hand as one of those "damned critics." He was amused and told me he was working on a project to kill off the critics. I told him I would be sure to review it when it opens. With a laugh he said "You're probably ok if you don't write for the New York Times."
With great humanity, energy, and humor he recalled how all of those working on the musical were living together in an apartment where they auditioned actors. One of them was Jerry Orbach (Murder She Wrote, Law and Order). "We chased him down the street and begged him to be in the show. He was a terrific song and dance man who we cast as the first El Gallo (the narrator, bandit, and seducer). Right after we offered him the part he got another offer for a show headed to Broadway. He had to choose between our $38 a week salary and $250 for a Broadway show. That other show closed after a tryout in Boston. I loved working with Jerry. I played the original Old Actor and every night I would try to break him up. It never worked but it always cracked me up. I was just 32 at the time and I played the part in the revival but I'm now just too old to do it anymore. If I did it now I wouldn't get out of the trunk (a scene in the play) and the audience would just have to walk by while I recite my lines."
Despite the original tepid reviews the audience built for the bare pipe show in a small theatre. One of the selling points for those 22,000 productions is that it is efficient and inexpensive to stage. It makes great use of simple props, like tossed confetti to simulate everything from rain, to spurting blood, and zany costumes, in this case, wonderfully designed and just hilarious by Kristina Lucka.
The breakthrough occurred when the song "Try to Remember" was performed on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show." Jones recalled that "It was such a hit than Johnny brought it back the next night. After that the show sold out for the next eight years."
There was discussion with the Shuberts to bring the hit show to Broadway. That finally happened with Robert Goulet but Jones and Schmidt weren't happy with the production. It is meant to stay small and intimate which is just perfect for the former vaudeville house of Barrington Stage. There are orchestral scores for The Fantasticks but Jones commented that he prefers the original, unique instrumentation of harp and piano. They had originally planned on two pianos but a wonderful harp player became available.
At Barrington, thank heavens, Boyd took the plunge in providing a grand piano for music director Christopher D. Littlefield. Last summer she took hits from critics for low balling the musical Carousel cutting corners with two upright, studio pianos.
But Boyd has again not listened to a chorus of critics objecting to amping the singers in a house small enough to hear those voices unenhanced. Overmiking the singers tended to drown out the subtle harp playing of Teresa Mango from Stockbridge. For the most part the singers were just fine and we would have enjoyed them better as is.
Following the readily familiar "Try to Remember" superbly sung by the handsome, swaggering, tall, and terrific Steve Wilson, as El Gallo, the pace of the beginning of the play was a bit enervating. As in "Our Town" the Narrator sets the stage and introduces the characters a boy, Matt (Cory Michael Smith) and the sixteen year old, girl next door, who is just blossoming into womanhood, Luisa (Dana DeLisa). Between them is a wall (Jonathan Karp). On either side are the feuding fathers Bellomy (John-Charles Kelly) and Huckelbee (Darin DePaul).
To emphasize the illusion of theatre vs. reality The Narrator actually provides the players with costumes as they are introduced. Hucklebee appears on stage in his undershorts and is handed a pair of comic plaid pants. Matt is given a cardigan sweater and Luisa a skirt. The staging and props manage a lot with little. The wall, a Mute, is at times, a Tree, Night and Day, Wind and Rain. All nicely nuanced by Jonathan Karp.
It seems that the fathers have a plot to marry off their children. To entice Matt there is a zany scheme to "rape" Luisa. The most controversial line in the play now changed to the nuance of the word as "abduct." Similarly Titian's famous "The Rape of Europa" in the Gardner Museum has been retitled "The Abduction of Europa.". In the trumped up scenario Matt will leap to her rescue, kill the assailants, win her heart, and live happily ever after.
For this they enlist the gun for hire, bandito, and seducer El Gallo. The pace and fun ratchets up when he sub contracts to two accomplices and hilarious buffoons; Henry, The Old Actor (Gordon Stanley), forever launching into bathetic, ersatz Shakespeare, and his over the top Indian sidekick, how politically incorrect in 2009, Mortimer (Bob Sorenson). They were just fantastick and added a lot of hearty froth and zest to the musical.
During the post play dialogue Jones commented that The Old Actor and Mortimer were inspired, stolen actually "From early Disney." Specifically from the characters who seduce Pinnochio and the boys, who after a Ferris Beuller's Day Off. are turned into Donkey slaves.
Act One ends with seemingly mission accomplished. The Narrator informs us that there will be an intermission while the rest of the cast are frozen into a tableau vivant. We are asked to speculate how long they can hold the pose.
After pulling down the curtain, strung between pipes, Act Two, finds them still stuck playing statues. They slowly unwind and then things fall apart. If the first half of the music unwound slowly the second blazes by in a frenetic, poignant, insightful, blur. The starcrossed lovers have doubts. Matt is eager to see the world, drink, gamble and know other women. Luisa blushes at the smarmy kisses of her abductor. Which enrages the jealously of Matt. The fathers morph back to bickering as their scheme unravels.
The plot catapults into mayhem. Matt falls on hard times and Luisa is about to make a terrible mistake surrendering her innocence to El Gallo. But, gosh, gee whiz, this is America's longest running musical. So, of course, we enjoy a happy ending. There is a touch of Candide in the serendipity zippity do da of the Best of All Possible Worlds. Matt and Luisa are a bit soiled and tarnished but now mature enough for the bliss and challenges of matrimony.
The audience loved it. As did we and you will too. Don't miss this one. It will be gone in a flash and after that, a Berkshire winter sets in. Bah humbug. Until then just Fantastick.