'The Fantasticks' Attempts To Be Just That

The elementary school stage wore the title banner like a child wearing his father's clothes. It read "The Fantasticks" and claimed to be just that in the program handed out before the play. However, the performance on opening night came up a bit shy of such a bold claim.

The story itself follows two families who live next door to one another – separated by a great wall. On one side, we have Hucklebee (Paul Frank) and his teenage son Matt (Nathaniel Danciger).

On the other side are Bellomy (Keith Soester) and his teenage daughter Luisa (Olivia Scotti). As anyone can guess, the teenagers fall in love and meet in secret while their parents absolutely forbid it, like the familiar age-old story. But, this one has an unexpected twist.

Near the end of the first act, the play breaks from the norm and begins to draw the audience in. Murmurs through the crowd sound off. "Well, this is different" they say. The two fathers have built a wall between their families on purpose for a very specific, and factual, reason.

Their plan unravels into act two with a charming Spanish bandit, El Gallo (Keith Kirkner) and his crew of street actors: Henry (Bill Brenner), a senile old man with an infatuation with Shakespeare, and Mortimer (Barry Wind), a Native American impersonator who specializes in dying.

The slow set-up of act one is forgiven as the audiences begins to laugh throughout act two.

With a limited budget and set of resources, the Monarch Theatre Troupe did surprise and exceed original expectations. It seemed that the play’s simplicity was its beauty.

The wall, symbolized by a black bench and a pole held by The Mute (Laura Scotti) seemed tacky at first introduction, but the sincerity of the characters and their obvious devotion to the part began to make the practically non-existent wall seem tangible and real.

Thin sticks easily became large steel swords swinging through the air. What appeared to be white confetti readily took on the appearance of a steady summer night rain. The blue flashing lights were lightning bolts, streaking through the blackened sky.

It was the realness of the characters that was truly the saving grace of the production. From any seat in the room, one could see the honesty and authenticity on the faces of the cast. They alone made the story seem human and intriguing.

What the musical numbers and choreography lacked in skill and intricacy, this comedic musical made up for in passion.

"The Fantasticks" proved that with great acting, over-the-top set designs or props are redundant.

The show is directed by Jean Brenner and produced by her and her husband Bill.

Upcoming showtimes are July 21-23 at 7:30 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. at . Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students or seniors in groups of 20 or more.