#1
Posted: 8/23/06 at 7:59pm
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=535442
Great notes for the show and part of the cast.
On the plus side, Santino Fontana makes a strong impression as Matt, tenderly capturing the ardor of a young man for whom every emotion is a first-time experience. He also sings attractively, especially in the lovely "Metaphor," his declaration of love for Luisa. Jones (billed, as he was in the original production, as "Thomas Bruce") is sheer delight as Henry, the old actor who helps kidnap Luisa. Whether he's mangling half a dozen Shakespearean speeches into a crazy quilt of a monologue, stealing applause at the end of a Matt-Luisa duet, or unconvincingly impersonating the Doge of Venice, he's a constantly welcome presence. The same is true for Robert R. Oliver as Mortimer, Henry's woebegone Cockney sidekick, who specializes in death scenes.
On the other hand, Burke Moses emphasizes El Gallo's overripe, ham-actor aspects at the expense of the role's darker shadings. Known for its satiric, bigger-than-life turns on Broadway stages, Moses seems to be consciously reining himself in here. As Luisa, Sara Jean Ford has a lovely voice and the right ingénue-ish look, but she contributes a note of hard common sense that isn't really ideal for a young girl given to romantic fantasies. Leo Burmester and Martin Vidnovic are more dutiful than inspired as the fathers, although the audience certainly responds to their vaudevillian comedy numbers "Never Say No" and "Plant a Radish." None of these performers is really wrong, but in a show as resolutely minimalist as The Fantasticks, details matter; here, they add up to a reasonably entertaining and frequently amusing production of a musical that should break your heart a little.
Great notes for the show and part of the cast.
On the plus side, Santino Fontana makes a strong impression as Matt, tenderly capturing the ardor of a young man for whom every emotion is a first-time experience. He also sings attractively, especially in the lovely "Metaphor," his declaration of love for Luisa. Jones (billed, as he was in the original production, as "Thomas Bruce") is sheer delight as Henry, the old actor who helps kidnap Luisa. Whether he's mangling half a dozen Shakespearean speeches into a crazy quilt of a monologue, stealing applause at the end of a Matt-Luisa duet, or unconvincingly impersonating the Doge of Venice, he's a constantly welcome presence. The same is true for Robert R. Oliver as Mortimer, Henry's woebegone Cockney sidekick, who specializes in death scenes.
On the other hand, Burke Moses emphasizes El Gallo's overripe, ham-actor aspects at the expense of the role's darker shadings. Known for its satiric, bigger-than-life turns on Broadway stages, Moses seems to be consciously reining himself in here. As Luisa, Sara Jean Ford has a lovely voice and the right ingénue-ish look, but she contributes a note of hard common sense that isn't really ideal for a young girl given to romantic fantasies. Leo Burmester and Martin Vidnovic are more dutiful than inspired as the fathers, although the audience certainly responds to their vaudevillian comedy numbers "Never Say No" and "Plant a Radish." None of these performers is really wrong, but in a show as resolutely minimalist as The Fantasticks, details matter; here, they add up to a reasonably entertaining and frequently amusing production of a musical that should break your heart a little.
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