The Fantasticks
The
current show at Portsmouth Community Theatre is
"The Fantasticks" a 1960 musical with music by
Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. The show
opened on May 3,1960, ran for 17,162
performances, closing on January 13, 2002,
making it the world's longest running musical.
The show tells an allegorical story, loosely
based on the play "Les Romanesques" by Edmond
Rostand, concerning two fathers who put up a
wall between their two houses to ensure that
their children fall in love, because they know
that children always do what their parents
forbid. Seeking to end the charade, the fathers
hire the services of a rogue, El Gallo who is
also the play's narrator, as well as a roving
actor and his sidekick to stage a phony
"abduction" of Luisa so that Matt can rescue
her. In the aftermath of this successful scheme,
however, both the boy and girl experience
hardships along the way. They rediscover their
love for each other and try to develop a more
mature relationship. Director Kate Grana infuses
the cast with the necessary energy to play these
roles and stages the musical numbers wonderfully
while doing so. Music director Jonathan Keene
not only plays the keyboards for this show,
but obtains some stunning vocals from this
topnotch cast, creating a musical treat their
audiences can savor.
Leading
the cast as El Gallo is Brian Killavey. He plays
this smarmy role wonderfully. His strong
baritone voice carries the well known song "Try
to Remember" as well as the powerful duet "I Can
See It" with Matt and the sinister "Round and
Round" with Luisa while Matt is tortured on his
world travels. Brian shows off his comic side
in the abduction scene with Henry and Mortimer
and during the abduction song "It Depends on
What You Pay" with the fathers. (The whole
Killavey family is in this show.) His brother,
Kevin Killavey and Samantha Acampora play Matt
and Luisa wonderfully, capturing the characters
innocent love in Act 1, their tortured break up
and renewed love in Act 2. Their
topnotch baritone and soprano voices soar off
the charts in their musical numbers including
"Metaphor", "Soon It's Going to Rain" and my
favorite song in the show "They Were You" which
brings a tear to your eye at its poignancy.
It is one of the loveliest ballads in the show.
Samantha is a pretty brunette whose first number
is "Much More" which shows off her gorgeous
voice while Kevin's belting voice shines during
the "I Can Feel It" duet with Brian. They also
do an excellent job on the jazz quartet number
with the fathers "This Plum Is Too Ripe". Cindy
Killavey, Brian and Kevin's mother plays the
mime. She has a gorgeous soprano voice but is
mute in this show. She does excellent facial
expressions during the set up of each scene
and is a whirlwind of activity, handing out
props, being the wall, rain and snow. (I
directed Cindy and Jim in "Cheaters" at the
Newport Playhouse in 2007 which was my 100th
show.)
The
comic fathers, Hucklebee and Bellomy are
excellently played by Jim Killavey and Ron
Marsh. They are very funny with their wacky
antics of trying to get their kids together by
pretending to feud with each other. They show
off their strong singing voices in their Spanish
style song "Never Say No" and the vaudeville
style song "Plant a Radish" which are both show
stopping numbers. Jim and Ron also sing with
Brian in "It Depends on What You Pay" and with
Kevin and Samantha in "This Plum is Too Ripe".
Two other scene stealers in this show are
Richard Schmidt as Henry and Bill Murphy as
Mortimer who enter and exit through a huge
trunk. They abduct Luisa in Act 1 and help to
torture Matt in Act 2. Richard spouts screwed up
Shakespearean lines while wanting to show
everyone his press notices for shows done many
years ago. Bill as the Indian has been dying on
stage for the past 40 years. They are a hoot in
these madcap roles. They sing a snippet of
"Somewhere" from "West Side Story" when they
kidnap Matt in Act 2. Hard working stage manager
Denise Betz keeps things running smoothly all
night long. This show brought back many
wonderful memories having played Henry in it
back in 1996 and 1998. So for a trip back to
1960, be sure to catch "The Fantasticks" at
Portsmouth Community Theater.
THE FANTASTICKS (15 to 25 April, 2010)
Portsmouth Community Theater, Aquidneck Island Christian Academy,321East Main Rd,Portsmouth,RI
1(401)683-1460 or www.aboutpct.org