Sunnyvale Community Center Theater (Sunnyvale, CA)
A classic coming-of-age story, The Fantasticks features two meddling, matchmaking fathers who scheme to get their children together. But once the couple is united, the real drama begins! Featuring the beloved songs "Try to Remember" and "Soon It's Gonna Rain."
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
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The Fantasticks is one of my favorite shows. I've seen it four times prior to this production, including the original off-Broadway production in Greenwich Village before it closed. If you haven't seen the Fantasticks, or are a fan of this show, you owe it to yourself to see the Sunnyvale production. The singing is lovely and the harmonies are well-executed. By convention, the staging is minimal, with much of the production produced from a box near the front of the stage, The acting is fine, and the instrumentalists do an excellent job with the score. The only significant thing that this show lacks is an audience.
The Sunnyvale Players production is very well cast. Matt Tipton as Hucklebee and Jeffrey Henson as Bellomy (the fathers) steal the show, delivering very strong performances. Another winner is Esther Selk as The Mute, who has a fabulously expressive face, and also performs the most significant dance in this production.
RaMond Thomas has a beautiful voice as El Gallo, and he well conveys the danger and sexuality surrounding his character. He seems to be a bit uncomfortable with the narrative dialogue, and his portrayal is missing some of the warmth that the role can have, but he does a fine job over all, particularly in the Abduction song, which replaces the now-controversial Rape song from the original. He also tends to push his voice a bit in the material in his lower register.
Shawna Downs Gonzales does a beautiful job singing and acting as Luisa (the girl). She does a fine job of connecting with and understanding the material, and is appropriately charming and lovely. The director (Walter Hayes) decided to give her and El Gallo's big dancing scene to The Mute, allowing both of them to concentrate on singing the part, but it removes some of the dramatic tension from the scene, and it robs her of a huge place to show off her talents and really connect with El Gallo.
Shawn Miller does a beautiful job of showing the arc of his character, although he's far more believable in the second act. He works well with Shawna, and their duets are lovely.
Finally, in the two non-singing roles, (Henry and Mortimer) Aaron Weisberg and Andrew Stuart keep things lively, but don't quite manage to extract all of the comedy that is possible from these parts.
The instrumentalists are set at the very back of the large Sunnyvale stage, and the players occasionally struggled to connect with them, but were effective over all.
Most of my negative comments I would describe as "picking nits" but I believe they are fair. The show as a whole is very strong, and is one of the best productions of this material I have seen. Don't miss this one!
What a great production of The Fantasticks! This is one of my favorite musicals, so I went in with high expectations, especially since I've seen it twice by other companies.
I was very pleased and eventually moved to tears by the emotion evoked by the actors. The singing was great and the comedy bits were very fun (the two fathers are perfect!) The Wall was great! Not distracting, but ever present and added glue to the scenes. Wonderful dancing by her, too!
I am a fan of RaMond (who played El Gallo) and here is another part that he can call a perfect match! He can be tender to Luisa, devious when necessary, and genuinely wounded in the end.
Go see this show! You'll be a fan of The Fantasticks from then on.
Go to this show if you have the chance. It's great entertainment for a low price. I agree with a previous reviewer that the two fathers stole the show (probably because they have some of the funniest songs and great acting), El Gallo was riveting, and the others all did very well. I hadn't seen this play before, and it was beyond my expectations.
Also, I went with my husband and 11 year-old son, and my son was singing the Abduction song all the next day!
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Established in 1969, SCP is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality theater for the Sunnyvale community. SCP offers participatory performance and backstage support opportunities for both Sunnyvale residents and interested non-residents of all ages. Each year SCP produces four or five shows. Each of these shows draws cast, crew, backstage volunteers, and audience members
Website: http://www.sunnyvaleplayers.org/component/content/article/137
Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Directed by Walter M. Mayes
Musical Direction by Walter M. Mayes
Produced by Laura Hager
A classic coming-of-age story, The Fantasticks features two meddling, matchmaking fathers who scheme to get their children together. But once the couple is united, the real drama begins!
Featuring the beloved songs "Try to Remember" and "Soon It's Gonna Rain," this is a celebration of love, first love, lost love and, ultimately, true love.
Written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, The Fantasticks has delighted audiences across the world including a record shattering 17,162 performances at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, where it made its Off Broadway debut in 1960. Whether it's an old favorite or your first time, you won't want to miss this timeless show that's certain to steal your heart.
Established in 1969, SCP is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality theater for the Sunnyvale community. SCP offers participatory performance and backstage support opportunities for both Sunnyvale residents and interested non-residents of all ages. Each year SCP produces four or five shows. Each of these shows draws cast, crew, backstage volunteers, and audience members from a wide range of local communities. These productions will use the talents of over 300 cast, crew, staff, and orchestra members and will entertain an expected audience in excess of 8,000. SCP offers a variety of productions geared to provide performing arts opportunities to three distinct age ranges: Junior: 8 - 18 years, Young Adult: 13 - 26 years, and Adult: 18+ years.