The Fantasticks Reimagined in West Coast Premiere at CV Rep

Quick, can you name the longest running musical in the world? Phantom of the Opera? Les Misérables? Did someone say Cats???  Nope, you’re all wrong. The trophy goes to a simple love story called The Fantasticks, with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones (no, not that Tom Jones). The show opened in 1960 and ran continuously until 2002, clocking in 42 years and 17,162 performances. (If you guessed Phantom, it is indeed the longest running production on Broadway with 35 years and 14,000+ performances).

The musical features eight actors on a mostly bare stage. They are Matt and Louisa, a pair of lovestruck teenagers; their fathers; a narrator called El Gallo, a man of romance and mystery who occasionally joins the action; two touring actors who become involved in the plot, and a mime who handles staging and props.  The most familiar songs from the show are “Try to Remember,” and “Soon It’s Gonna’ Rain,” and the accompaniment is merely a piano and harp. Simple, yes, but somehow endearing enough to be performed thousands of times all over the world and in 67+ languages!

Fast forward to 2022. Michale Lluberes, the Artistic Director of Flint Repertory Theatre, had known the show since his youth, but he always identified with Louisa whenever he saw the show. He conceived of a production that would feature two boys instead of the traditional boy/girl lovers. He applied for permission from the rights-holder in New York, and the rights-holder contacted the author of the book and lyrics, Tom Jones. Despite being a straight man (well, at least a twice-married father of two), Jones thought that was a wonderful idea, but felt that a simple change of pronouns would not be enough. At the ripe age of 94, he set to work crafting changes to the script and lyrics. The lovers became Matt and Lewis, and their fathers became their mothers. Virtually nothing was made of the fact that they were an all-male couple, and no one has any angst that they are gay. El Gallo says to one of the mothers, “They’re both boys?” and she responds, “Yes, and they love each other.”  I know this show is produced thousands of times each year, and it excites me that high schools, colleges, and community theatres can now choose whether they will have a boy and girl, two boys, or quite probably two girls (those rights haven’t been cleared yet).

The Fantasticks Reimagined will be the opening production next month at Coachella Valley Repertory (CVR), the building in Cathedral City that was previously an Imax theatre. That production will be the West Coast Premiere. GED spoke with Adam Karsten who has served as CVR’s Artistic Director since he moved from New York to The Valley with his family last year, asking him about the programming of plays and long-term plans. “We prepare programing with a keen awareness of our community, bringing consistently excellent performances that will build the theatre’s following,” says Karsten. CVR was started by Ron Celona in 2008 in an 86-seat venue in Rancho Mirage and has always operated as a professional Actors’ Equity company under a special contract with the union. Working with the City of Cathedral City, the 208-seat Imax theatre facility was renovated, and CVR moved into the space in 2021. Celona retired at the end of the 2021-2022 season.

Karsten has selected a varied and fascinating five shows for the 2023-2024 season. THE FANTASTICKS REIMAGINED opens the season, playing November 1 – 12. Tickets are available online and at the box office now. With such a short run, I suspect good seats will be snatched up quickly. The director, Craig Wells, told me that this production will stay true to the clarity and simplicity of the original work, but it is neither a copy of the original nor of last year’s Flint production. He and the designers are creating a much more colorful production than ever before, certainly consistent with a gayer production, and he acknowledges that male couples don’t shy away from physical intimacy as much as straight couples did in 1960. He suggested this might make a difference in the staging!

Following is SUMMER SESSION WITH THE BONES BRIGADE, December 6 – 17, which is part of the theatres New Works Development Program. The Bones Brigade tells the story of four teenage skateboarders and their two female friends. When one of them mysteriously disappears, the gang fears the worst and directs their guilt and shame about the disappearance on each other. I asked Karsten how he was going to find teenagers that could act and ride skateboards at the same time and he reminded me that as an Equity Theatre, they could cast from anywhere in the country, so a couple of “teenagers” are coming from New York!

CABARET, January 24 – February 4. In an immersive, one-of-a-kind production, the audience will step off the street and into a world you could only imagine. Viewers will be transported to a debauched nightlife; a dangerous time in an unstable country, taking a journey unlike any you’ve risked before.

POTUS, February 28 – March 10.  This hilarious comedy opened on Broadway in April of last year so this will be one of the first regional productions. It is a side-splitting comedy that applauds the women who somehow manage to keep things running in — and out — of the Oval Office!

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, April 10 – 21. This jukebox musical of songs by George and Ira Gershwin is a brand-new take on the classic 1920’s musical farce. It’s a screwball comedy that features romance, high-spirited production numbers and a Tony Award winning script that pokes fun at class snobbery in the prohibition era.

It seems to me that our population is served very well. Fantasticks for the gays, Bones Brigade for the younger set (and we do have some), POTUS for the ladies, and Nice Work for our seniors.  And dammit, no one needs a special reason to revisit Cabaret. It remains one of the finest musicals ever written!

More information and tickets can be found at www.CVRep.org, and they have a walk-up box office with hours listed on the website. Plenty of free parking is available across the street from the venue in a parking structure.  CVR also offers season ticket packages that allow a lot of freedom in changing seats and dates.  They are worth checking out.