The Fantasticks, Seminole State College

I saw this musical on its final afternoon last Sunday. I saw it about 10 years back in its home theater on Sullivan St. I didn't love it then, but, I enjoyed this performance. I'm not sure if I changed in the intervening years or if casting more age appropriate actors was all that it took. I would like to think that the second act was too depressing for me at the time, but, I'm pretty sure I was just as morose back then. I remember having an e-zine where I made up the real endings of what happened to fictional characters in the years after the happily ever after. Yes I have been bloviating for that long on the Internet. I'm an OB. Back to the event. There are only eight characters in the play and one is mute. Discussing them should be a snap. The musical is based on the Romeo and Juliet-like love story of Pyramus and Thisbe. It pre-dates it. The lovers were good. The boy was a little old. He looked like a Guatemalan Matthew Broderick. I liked him better in the second act because I didn't really believe him as a boyfriend. The girl is just a freshman so she didn't look too out of place playing an adolescent. Her voice was good. She seemed like she might have been coached by someone who has a little too much respect for Disney musical theater. The parents were an odd pair that grew on you. One guy kept exaggerating his pronunciation. It reminded me of the way old timers used to act in musical theater. It was dissonant with the other performances and odd, but, it just endeared him to me like an otter with his head caught in the plastic from a six pack. The villain had a lisp that may have been caused by false teeth. But, likewise he made you like him. He had good presence and his voice was up to the challenge. The final two "accomplices" were fine. The old stage actor was played by an old stage actor. He hit the right notes. His apprentice could have been played by a walk in. My favorite was the mime. Not because the role is so integral but because she looks like that Scottish or Irish actress in Ronin and the Truman Show. She was in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum last spring. I hope she will be in everything this year. Is community college two years or four? Let's hope she isn't too bright. Her role required her to be engaged throughout the whole show. It would have been easy to become bored with such a little part (especially after repeated performances). She played it perfectly. Subtle and attentive. The staging was minimal. This was a perfect type of musical for this venue. Thank you for resurrecting a fallen musical for me. The next thing they are doing is the Laramie Project (the play bill only said later this Fall). I found it a bit melodramatic and preachy when it first came out in the late 90's. Maybe they can change my mind about this as well. I would also like to congratulate the people who put together the playbill. It's much more informative and professional than in the past. It keeps getting better.