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Los Fantásticos

a review by Emily Zhukov

The Fantasticks is the longest running musical in the world, now in its 40th year at the The Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York City. Bruce Quinn´s Spanish language production, "Los Fantásticos" was forced to close early in its engagement at the ABA Theater in Panama City. And therein lies a tale of two cities. When times are tough, Broadway lights still shine on lines of theater-goers. Here, people gather to form lines of protest. It is a shame that the public missed this play, for it carries several important messages for the times we live in.

The Fantasticks is a play with in a play; its slapstick humour and simple set recall the days of travelling troubadours. A simple raised platform serves as the stage, props (and actors) are supplied from a large trunk, exits and entrances occur in plain view of the audience. The narrator, "El Gallo," brilliantly played by Luis Arteaga, mocks the actors with a perfect blend of irony and affection. It is a moral play, exploring basic themes like "Strong fences make good neighbors" and "The honeymoon is over." As usual, Bruce Quinn has chosen a love affair between innocent youth to point a finger at our flawed society.

"The Fantasticks" is a story of two neighbors fond of horticulture who cook up a scheme to unite their children in marriage so as to join their gardens. To this end, they construct a wall and fake a feud, then stage a kidnapping. All ends well, for awhile. Soon, the friendship and marriage sour with familiarity, and strife and alienation set in. With a wink at Shakespeare, the play recalls the story of Pyramus and Thisbee so comically reenacted by buffoons in A Midsummer Night´s Dream. The well-known themes of thwarted love, the prodigal son, and the loss of innocence are retold here with a modern cynicism.

Aaron Zebede and Ron Leggiere are well-suited to their roles as the fathers, and performed with obvious enjoyment. Juan Carlos Adames (Tony in Amor Sin Barreras) again played the foolish young man but with a maturity of voice and bearing that begs to see him cast in other roles in the future. Albir Rojas, (Tyrone in Fame), was cast as the Mudo, a mute harlequin, whose eyes were as expressive as his lithe body. The evenings two delightful surprises were the aging mercenary actors Henry, played by Alex Mariscal in true Shakespearean fashion, and Mortimer, played by the seventeen year old Rocco Melillo. Hats off to stage manager and make-up artist Hannia Woodman and mask designer Carlotta Bentham for their transformative arts.

The Fantasticks musical score is best known for its hit "Try to Remember the Days of September." The song sounded as good in Spanish as in English, and as usual, the score was masterfully executed by Dino Nugent. The play had few dancing numbers, but choreographer Melina Samaniego treated us to lots of wonderfully orchestrated physical interaction, including bumbling gardeners and cloak and dagger death scenes.

In the program notes, Panamanian actor Luis Arteaga confessed that at first he saw the play as "a typical gringo comedy," with no relation to his experience. However, after discussing the play with Quinn, he saw the universality of the play´s argument and assumed the challenge of communicating those themes as narrator. For those who saw "Los Fantásticos," and today watch the angry and disillusioned citizens throng the streets, the argument resounds anew. Once naïve and hopeful, heedless of the consequences, the farmers and their children plotted their future union, only to find that the barriers, however falsely constructed, had protected them from certain truths. In the new geography of their proximity, they must learn to grow up and take responsibility for their actions, to communicate honestly and to become compassionate. Lessons for our time?