The Fantasticks: A treat for young and old
MANILA, Philippines - Last Saturday, July 3, marked the opening night of Repertory Philippines’ highly anticipated musical The Fantasticks at Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1.
The first visual the audience was treated to immediately indicated the play’s minimalist nature — with a simple yet effective stage design that initially consisted of a raised wooden platform supported by four poles. Despite the obvious budget-friendly aspects, there was a definite sense of anticipation as the full house waited for the lights to dim.
With music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones, the show first ran off-Broadway in 1960, and so began its current claim to fame as the longest-running musical in the world.
Its basic plot has Matt and Luisa, often simply referred to as “The Boy” and “The Girl” respectively, as a pair of teenagers or early twenty-somethings (their ages are never specified) who are subjected to a deliberate reenactment of Romeo and Juliet by Hucklebee and Bellomy (also known as their florimaniac fathers). Hilarity ensues, with comic twists and turns along the way.
PJ Valerio and Julia Abueva lead the small cast as the young pair, while the deadbeat dads are played by Broadway-musicale veterans Jaime Del Mundo and Dido De La Paz.
While it certainly falls under the romantic comedy genre, much of the humor comes from these older members of the cast, including Miguel Faustmann who steps into his role as Henry (The Old Actor) with ease. Faustmann returns to his Shakespearean roots, both as a performer and as a buckling-knee character.
The cast is rounded off by Jake Macapagal as the narrator, a Zorro-emulating bandit called El Gallo; Red Concepcion as Mortimer (a role to die for); and dancer-actor PJ Rebullida as the mute who effectively multi-tasks as a prop, a mime, and even a counselor for the characters to confide in.
The performances were commendable, with Valerio and Macapagal effortlessly essaying the boy-and-girl-next-door types as a wholesome couple. While their roles aren’t exactly challenging, they were more than credible as young, naive lovers, hitting the high notes when they croon capricious tunes to one another in perfect harmony.
Reunited onstage with Valerio is fellow Altar Boyz cast member Concepcion, who shares his own brand of comedy that had the crowd reacting with constant laughter and raucous applause. Macapagal was charmingly devilish; it would be hard to picture him in anything other than a black cape. Rebullida also did a good job of snatching back everyone’s attention during some of the play’s slower points — and he did it without ever talking.
Most of the show’s problems on opening night lay in the technical department. A few times during the performance, there were difficulties involving sound. At one point, Valerio’s mic stopped working, affecting a large part of his song. Experienced pianists Molinder Cadiz and Jane Banta as the backup musicians could also have been allowed to go louder. Despite these, the melodious performance was still very much enjoyable.
Broadway fans of today may still enjoy classics such as The Sound of Music and Singing in the Rain. However, much of the exposure nowadays is directed towards high-energy musicals with fast-paced tunes and vigorous choreography.
Being one of the oldies, it is not surprising that The Fantasticks has none of those. Instead, the songs are almost purely whimsical, with poetic lyrics relating to love and nature, or pretty much everything that comes with an ideal romance. There are few props (the most modern one being a briefly featured skateboard), which means that the crowd and characters rely mostly on their own imagination, aided by long-winded descriptions in each song number.
While adult fans may already be familiar with The Fantasticks’ hummable soundtrack, the younger crowd may be put off a bit by the relative quietness of the play. Even the jokes are geared towards the older generation. The characters comment on raising their young, allude to several Shakespearean plays, and lament their own ages on a regular basis.
The Fantasticks will certainly have more seasoned viewers reminiscing, but should also be able to win over a handful of new converts. It’s a real treat for musical fans young and old, a commendable effort to return to the classics.
Director Baby Barredo clearly worked hard to highlight peaceful scenes of not-so-long-ago, and bring to life other nostalgia-inducing moments. The solid performances, the tender choreography courtesy of Julie Borromeo, and the memorable score all make for one enjoyable night.
To call the entire performance fantastic might be redundant. An easier way to express the fun factor of it all would be to simply say that it works. And hey, it still works very well.
* * *
The Fantasticks enjoys two more weekend runs on July 10-12 and 17-19, with afternoon matinees on Saturdays and Sundays.
