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The production, directed by John L'Hommedieu, will be presented April 12 & 13 and 19 & 20. The Fantasticks, the work of lyricist Tom Jones and composer Harvey Schmidt, had its final performance at the Sullivan Street Theatre in New York City on January 13, 2002. The show was in its 42nd year; the finale was its 17,162 performance. It opened at the Sullivan Street Theatre on May 3, 1960, and has become the record holder for the world's longest running show in its original theatre. The musical is based on Edmond Rostand's Les Romantiques, and is a charming, intimate musical about a boy and a girl who are in love because they think their parents disapprove of the romance. The fathers, however, are anxious to have the young people get married and try to help the romance without letting the young lovers know of their plans. The romance runs into complications, the boy learns of the difficulties of the outside world, and all ends happily. There are only eight roles in the play, which are brought to life by several Gates hall regulars. The character of El Gallo (John Irwin), is a storyteller, instigator of the whole mess, and meddles in the lives of the boy (Mike Gorksi) and the girl (Jenna Arend), to bring them together, to part them, and to bring them together again. The fathers of the children (played by Alan Pritchard and Wayne Vanderbyl) get the opportunity to play off each other and the audience, letting us in on their plots with good-humored songs and dialogue. Anne Vanderbyl plays the mute whose job it is to hand the others their props, hang and remove the curtain that covers the stage-within-the-stage, and build the Wall. This is Anne's debut on the Gates Hall stage. Additional comic relief is provided by The Old Actor Henry (Andrew Meyer) and Mortimer - the Man Who Dies (Rob Wills).
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2002 |
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