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Show I 1 ' ' ' j ! I l i; . 't 8 -:: ,. ,r ;.--- ;' - "; : lAE's 'Fantasticks' Deserves Hearty Round of Applause Barbara Bramble is "vivacious and full of energy" in "The Fantasticks". by David Fleisher What are you doing this weekend? What are you doing next weekend? If the answer is, as is usually the case in Park City, I don't know, there's no reason to fret over how to fill your agenda during both weekends: week-ends: grab your girlfriend or your wife or your husband and your children and go see the Intermountain Actors Ensemble's production of "The Fantasticks". It's the longest running musical in off-broadway history; and the local production, which opened this past weekend under the tent in Swede Alley', should have a life just as long. But unfortunately, it won't. It will live only two more weekends, so see it twice; that way, you'll remember it that much longer. Don't go to "The Fantasticks" Fanta-sticks" expecting to see a gripping story; it's not there. Boy and girl fall in love, they separate only to discover how much they love each other, and then get back together again. The romantic musical focuses in a somewhat some-what round-about way on the difficulties of loving someone. some-one. Although parts of the play are light-hearted and farcical, it certainly isn't a comedy, but rather lyrical in its texture and mood. As the program says, the play takes place in "the world of your imagination." One can produce in Park City the most popular play in the world, but without strong direction and an equally strong cast, the production can fall fiat on its face. Convcrscfv, "The Fanta-Slii'W Fanta-Slii'W i drlipV.ifiil better yet entertaining, because of Ron Burnett's able direction and the absolutely superlative superla-tive performances delivered by Barbara Bramble and Steve Stanczyk, who portray the lovers Luisa and Matt. The evening begins on a familiar note with the popular popu-lar song, "Try to Remember," Remem-ber," sung by Curt Graf, who portrays the worldly bandit El Gallo. Although Graf has appeared in a number of local productions, this is his first leading role in a musical. ..and hopefully, it won't be his last. Delivering songs with Bramble, "Much More" and "Round and Round" in a deep, .resonant voice, although not as strong as Stanzcyk, Graf demonstrates demon-strates throughout the play his diversity as an actor. Graf gives a controlled performance, perfor-mance, appearing confident in every scene, even during the rather challenging "Round and Round" number num-ber in Act 2 which requires a certain amount of choreographic choreo-graphic ability. I think Graf's El Gallo, however, would have been more effective if there had been a little more flair, maybe a little more flamboyancy in its interpret-. interpret-. ation. The moment we see Bar- bara Bramble and Steve Stanczyk on stage, early in Act 1. things begin running in high gear. Together (and probably even apart), they possess more natural singing ability than anyone I have heard in a local musical production. And during the entire performance, they are vivacious and full of energy' Their songs "Metaphor," "Soon It's Gonna Rain," and "They Were You" are. at the risk of being overly dramatic, truly inspiring. If you must have a reason to see "The Fantasticks", then go because of Barbara Bramble and Steve Stanczyk. In terms of the plot, matters pick up considerably when the two lovers' fathers, played by Chuck Folkerth and Peter Holdorf, arrive and let us know of their shenanigans during the song, "Never Say No." Their plan is to get the children married to each other, yet not to make their intentions obvious; so, they decide to enlist El Gallo's help in achieving the goal. Folkerth and Holdorf are believable and convincing as the silly, sometimes even zany fathers even though they were at times overshadowed overshad-owed by the dominating forces of Bramble and Stanczyk. During "Never Say No," of which the lyrics include, "To manipulate children, you merely say no," Folkerth and Holdorf, are wonderfully entertaining. entertain-ing. As the plot thickens, El Gallo calls on two "actors" to help achieve the goal as set forth by the fathers. During a funny "rape" scene at the end of Act 1, Rai French and Clayton Maw prove they may be the best comedy duo in town. French is hilarious the moment he opens his mouth, and Maw's "death" scene is indeed memorable. French and Maw definitely give an added punch to "The Fantasticks" Fanta-sticks" (still another reason to see the play). Act 2 begins, as El Gallo explains, "to finish w hat was foolishly begun." and somehow some-how evervthir.a is resolved in a haphazard way, leaving behind a happy but mildly sobering afterthought. "The Fantasticks" is played play-ed "in-the-round" which for the most part lends itself well to this production, yet this kind of staging also has its shortcomings. The most j obvious problem is when an actor's back is to you and he or she is on the other side of the stage: it's difficult, if not impossible, to hear lines or lyrics. And during some songs, the piano player was a tad too enthusiastic, drowning drown-ing out certain songs (either the piano player was too heavy-handed or the actors didn't sing loud enough, I can't figure out which). Leslie Luyken, a talented young actress who has appeared in several IAE productions, plays the part of the Mute. Given the fact she has no lines, it might be tempting to over-act in an effort to make your presence on stage more noticeable; however, Luyken rebuffs this temptation and delivers a solid, well-conceived per formance, une scene in Act 2 when she is building a "good, solid wall" to separate sepa-rate the two families is particularly impressive. And like Graf. Luyken seems completely comfortable with her role in each scene. Linda Martin and Mary Jane Bird deserve special recognition for jobs well done as Musical Director and Choreographer, respectively. respective-ly. The rest of the production staff also deserves a hearty round of applause; Roxanne , Shapiro-Mear, Accompanist; Leslie Luyken, Technical Director; Janice Klein and : Linda Martin, Costumes Props; and Ron Burnett and Jean Piatt for Production and Lighting design. "The Fantasticks" co.iti-nues co.iti-nues this Thursday through Saturday, then picks up again September 3-5. Curtain Cur-tain is 8 p.m. What are you doing this weekend? What are you doing next weekend? You should know by now. The action's in the tent. |