Modern version of ‘The Fantasticks’ soars at Island City Stage
By AARON KRAUSE for Theatrical Musings
Whether it’s between a man and a woman, two men, two women, two robots, or two animals, love is love. A modern version of the beloved classic musical The Fantasticks reinforces this in your mind – and makes you fall in love with the show all over again.
A touching, funny, and enchanting professional production of the modern version, which features two male lovers instead of a young man and a young woman, recently completed an extended run at Island City Stage (ICS) in Wilton Manors. ICS added an additional three performances due to high ticket demand. In all, ICS’s production, which kicked off the company’s 2024-25 season, ran for more than a month.
“If I’m not mistaken, we have presented more performances of this show than any other in our history,” says Andy Rogow, ICS’s artistic director. He helmed the production together with South Florida live theater artist Richard Weinstock. The latter served as the stage manager and assistant director. In addition, Nicole Perry’s choreography and musical staging helped to establish a playful atmosphere. In addition, when the actors sang, musical director Eric Alsford provided rich live accompaniment.
ICS became just the third theater company (and the first in Florida) to attain the rights to the LGBTQ version.
Truthfully, the modern version, by original librettist and lyricist Tom Jones, may introduce a whole new generation and segment of the population to The Fantasticks. The new version is a celebration of the hard-fought rights the LGBTQ community has gained. In addition, it is a reminder to hold fast to those very rights; they may be in danger due to recent political developments. The presence of a wall in the show may also make you laugh uncomfortably.
Fortunately, the LGBTQ-rewrite keeps the majority of the musical intact. Among the only changes are instead of Matt and Luisa, the young couple are Matt and Luis. And instead of their fathers scheming to make them fall in love, their mothers are the plotters.
Legions of folks have experienced The Fantasticks. Its original Off-Broadway production ran for 42 years and 17,162 performances, making the show the world’s longest-running musical. But if you are new to the piece, a brief introduction may be in order.
The musical tells an allegorical story loosely based on the 1894 play The Romancers (Les Romanesques) by Edmond Rostand. In The Fantasticks, two neighboring parents believe that, in general, children want something most when they can’t have it. Therefore, the older characters pretend to feud and forbid their children from seeing each other. Further, the adults decide that their “feud” would end if someone kidnapped one half of the young loving couple, and the other half came to the rescue. Therefore, the parents hire professional actors to stage a kidnapping.
The kidnapping and rescue transpire just as the parents expected it would. But everybody doesn’t just live happily ever after following the ordeal. Just as a supposedly happy “ending” takes place in Into the Woods, The Fantasticks does not end with the couple reuniting following the kidnapping. After all, true love takes patience and sustenance, like a vegetable garden (the gardens in the piece are part of the poetic show’s rich symbolism). But is gardening really akin to raising children? The song “Plant a Radish” may leave you wondering whether such a comparison is valid.
The fast-paced, upbeat “Plant a Radish” and the slower nostalgic song “Try to Remember,” both sung beautifully in ICS’s production, are two of the score’s more memorable numbers.
Speaking of the latter song, try to remember the time when you experienced your first love. Maybe it wasn’t even to a human being. Instead, perhaps you fell in love with live theater as a toddler after seeing your first show. In addition to featuring an allegorical story, The Fantasticks is about the magic and usefulness of live theater. Indeed, the show borrows from various theatrical traditions. They include Commedia Dell’arte and Japanese Noh. While you watch The Fantasticks, Theatre of the Absurd may also spring to mind. The Fantasticks may further remind you of shows such as Romeo and Juliet, with Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers engaged in forbidden romance. And with its band of players and forbidden love, The Fantasticks can also call to mind Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Fantasticks is a highly theatrical, musically memorable piece filled with humor, romance, and nostalgia. Of course, it’s also a plus that The Fantasticks requires few props and scenic elements. This allows theater companies with smaller budgets to produce the show. With all of this going for it, it’s no wonder that The Fantasticks has captivated so many and run for so long.
ICS’s production appropriately featured playful, over-the-top direction from Rogow and Weinstock. The two coaxed energetic, comical performances from a talented cast. It included recognizable South Florida performers such as Jeni Hacker, Margot Moreland, and Michael Gioia. In addition, at least one performer newer to the South Florida live theater scene shined in ICS’s production. That person is New Yorker Jesse Luttrell, who made his ICS debut with “The Fantasticks.”
Luttrell, who has toured the country playing major roles such as Dracula and Sweeney Todd, gave us a devious, sneaky, sexy, and melodramatic El Gallo. He is the mysterious bandit who is the show’s narrator and part of the team of fictional actors carrying out the abduction.
With wide dark eyes, dark hair, and clad mostly in black, Luttrell’s El Gallo never failed to captivate. Also, Luttrell wrapped his deep, rich voice around songs such as “It Depends on What You Pay” and, of course, the unforgettable number “Try to Remember.”
As the mothers, Hacker and Moreland played their roles with a playfully competitive aura. Indeed, you never sensed true hate between the mothers, named Bessie and Mildred. Instead, Hacker and Moreland made it clear that their characters were only pretending to fight with each other so that their children would fall in love.
Speaking of the young lovers, Kevin Hincapie and Jonny Lee portrayed Matt and Lewis, respectively. The performers convincingly conveyed youthful charm, dreaminess, and sincere desire. You never questioned whether these two young men were truly in love.
Other cast standouts included Gioia as Henry, an old timer who has acted in many plays, including those by Shakespeare. Gioia’s Henry may have been a veteran actor who was slower than he once was. However, Gioia lent his character vibrancy and desire. You sensed that this fictional actor wanted to act for many more years.
Rayner Gabriel and Louie San Luis also performed well in smaller roles. More specifically, they lent their comedic and non-verbal skills to the production.
Behind the scenes, Ardean Landhuis’s lighting deftly established mood and his basic set design helped to create a playful atmosphere.
W. Emil White’s character-appropriate costumes and David Hart’s sound design were also integral to the production’s success.
ICS may be just the third theater company to stage Jones’ revised LGBTQ version of The Fantasticks. However, the feeling here is that it has a long theatrical life ahead of it. It reminds you anew of the piece’s universality.