Broadway's longest running musical left Manhattan several years ago and has now found a more humble place to settle down. The play is "The Fantasticks," and the place is Hanover, New Hampshire.
With only one day until opening night, the cast and crew have staked out The Bentley Theater each night this week to work on the kinks of the production.
And what a kink they have to work on. As if by one of those age-old theater curses that everyone talks about but nobody believes, the show's director, Thom Pasculli '05, came down with a severe case of the flu on Friday. Doctors at Dick's House told Thom he'd be bedridden for six days. I'm no math major, but if my counting is correct, that means that Thom has not left his room all week and if his cast is lucky, they will see him at rehearsal Thursday, one night before the opening of "The Fantasticks."
But, as the old saying goes, the show must go on. And it's going. The cast remains calm, cool and collected in these final days of rehearsal, forging forward in the face of adversity.
"We were freakin' out," musical director Chad Detloff '08 said. Rightfully so: Thom not only directs, but also plays the leading role of El Gallo. Pasculli and Detloff discussed the dilemma and decided an understudy for his part would be necessary. Understudy Gordon Gray '05 has been working on his El Gallo, but it is too early to tell if Pasculli will recover in time for Friday night's opening. Unfortunately, Gray will be reading the part if he fills in for Pasculli, because one week's notice has not provided enough time to memorize his lines. In addition, the crew brought in John Bair '06 to help direct in Pasculli's absence.
"The Fantasticks", one of the three student-run plays produced by the theater department this term, is the creation of Pasculli and Detloff.
"Thom and I both have this intense love of 'The Fantasticks,'" Detloff said. "It's a really great, simple story about life and love. It has a small, intimate cast, it's easy to watch, and it has fantastic music." Pun unintended (although we both picked up on it immediately and couldn't help but stop for a quick chuckle).
Perhaps the cast and crew have overcome Pasculli's illness due to something Detloff called "a communal feel." Everyone has been encouraged to put in their directing ideas, including the cast of eight, the two assistant directors, the stage manager, and the two assistant stage managers.
"We've had an open dialogue with everyone throwing in ideas," Detloff said.
Pasculli decided to add some spice to this classic love story. Providing a play-within-a-play feel, the show is performed by a traveling gypsy theater company. The script suggests that the play is a story being told, which explains El Gallo's presence as a narrator, and Pasculli has taken advantage of this suggestion. Actors don their gypsy garb and the set is adorned with makeshift curtains that the cast opens and closes themselves.
Apparently this "makeshift" effect was not something the crew worked hard to achieve, but rather let stem from reality; Pasculli liked the idea of spending as little money as possible on the production. While Pasculli was sick in bed, Detloff tried to explain the idea behind using minimum funds.
"Being at Dartmouth, where we're all pretty fortunate, it's interesting to take ourselves out of that and put ourselves in a place where we have next to nothing," he said.
"The Fantasticks," which ran on Broadway for just under 42 years, is a story of young love between Luisa, played by Anna Moschet '05, and Matt, played by Detloff. Their fathers trick them into falling in love, but the two are separated when Matt needs to go into the "real" world. The play wraps up in what many would call a bittersweet ending, but you can decide for yourself this Friday and Saturday night at 8 PM. "The Fantastiks" performs in The Bentley Theater. Tickets are $1.
