AS “FANTASTICK” AS EVER @ CV Rep (Updated Version)

by June August

             While leaving CV Rep after a preview performance of The Fantasticks, I contemplated about the way I could tell you about it.  My first thought was, “This will not be the standard format theater review.” My second thought was, “How do I admit I saw the original production when it first opened without giving away my age?”

            In case you don’t know the history of Harvey Schmidt (music) and Tom Jones’ (lyrics) show, The Fantasticks has the distinction of being the longest-running musical of all time—but not on Broadway.  The show opened at the off-Broadway Sullivan Street Theatre in May 1960 and ran continuously for 42 years.  Well, back then I was “still in diapers” in terms of musical theatre sophistication, having been weaned on the traditional boy-meets-girl plot.  The Fantasticks was all about boy-meets-girl, yet it was anything but traditional.  So I confess: I was confused. Some of it didn’t make sense. Nevertheless, something about the show lingered, and I looked forward to seeing this re-imagined production, directed by Craig Wells.

            I was not disappointed!  Some of it still didn’t make sense to me—at first—but it all comes together in Act Two.  And the fact that it might not make sense to you does not matter.  The CV Rep production is joyous, delightful, funny, poignant, surprising, and thoroughly entertaining:  the underlying idea, the staging, and the execution.

            The Fantasticks is all about love.  It opens with a magnetic performance by Eric Kunze (El Gallo) of the timeless “Try To Remember.”  Enter Jack Mastrianni (Lewis), still glowing with the sheen of adolescent idealism and dreams.  Enter Eric Phelps (Matt), lovestruck, hopeful, determined, charming. The boys are separated by a Wall, portrayed by exquisite dancer Amber Lux Archer.  You see, their relationship was planned by their mothers (Lisa Vroman and Sadé Ayodele—both perfectly cast in their roles) who felt the boys would get together only if they thought their mothers—fathers in the original-- didn’t want them to.  Hence, the Wall.  

            I’m reluctant to give anything else away except this: I think Erik Scott Romney delivers the best mime performance since Marcel Marceau.  And theatre-lovers, especially Shakespeare aficionados, will be entranced by the performance of Wayne Bryan.

            Ah, the music.  As in the original production, a piano (Chip Prince) and a harp (Christian Chalfour) deliver the score beautifully.  In addition to “Try To Remember,” you’ll recognize two touching songs that have since become standards:  “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and “They Were You.”

The Fantasticks Reimagined has been extended through Sunday, November 19th, with remaining performances on Sundays at 2 p.m., Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursdays at 7 p.m. (including Talkback Thursday, November 9th), Fridays at 7 p.m., and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are available at https://cvrep.org/, by telephone at 760-296-2966 ext. 0, or at the box office Tue - Fri 10:00am - 4:00pm and 1 hour prior to performance. The theater and box office are located at 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral City, CA 92234.

PHOTO CREDIT: David A. Lee

CVRep’s offerings for the rest of the 2023-24 season are:

Summer Session with the Bones Brigade, by Kirby Fields (Dec. 6 – Dec. 17, 2023).

CVRep presents the world premiere of this powerful new play. As part of the Origins New Works Development Program, Summer Session with The Bones Brigade tells the story of four teenage skateboarders and their two female friends. When one of them mysteriously disappears, the gang fears the worst and directs their guilt and shame about his disappearance against one another.

Cabaret, book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb (Jan.24–Feb. 4, 2024).

In an immersive, one-of-a-kind production, you will step off the street and into a world you could only imagine. From the minute you enter the Playhouse you will be transported to a wild nightlife and a dangerous time in an unstable country. Join CVRep as they present this show like it has never been done before and be swept away in the eight Tony Award winning musica..

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, by Selina Fillinger(February 28 – March 10, 2024).

This side-splitting comedy applauds the women who somehow manage to keep things running in, and out, of the presidential Oval Office. Seven brilliant and beleaguered women surrounding the most powerful man on earth increasingly take desperate measures to save face when his scandals spark a global crisis.

Nice Work if You Can Get It, music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, book by Joe DiPietro (April 10 – April 21, 2024).

There’s a “Somebody I’m Longing to See” and they’re “S’wonderful” with a “Fascinating Rhythm”. Before you, “Call The Whole Thing Off”, get the “Sweet and Lowdown” of this “Lady Be Good” musical that will hit the CVRep stage with Gershwin songs you’ll be humming the whole way home. In a brand-new take on the classic 1920s musical farce, this screwball comedy features romance, high-spirited production numbers, and a Tony Award winning script that pokes fun at class snobbery in the prohibition era.