Review: THE FANTASTICKS Contrasts Dark Reality With Saccharine Imagination

Wednesday 13th January 2016, 7:30pm, Hayes Theatre, Potts Point

THE FANTASTICKS is given a darker contemporary treatment as the consequences of manipulating fate are exposed. Helen Dallimore returns to Hayes Theatre to direct a new imagining of the 1960 musical that holds the record for the longest running musical in history.

Production Designer Hugh O'Connor has the audience viewing the idyllic suburban yard through a frame which breaks up the black box space to a defined audience and stage. Carnations pop up out of lush green lawns whilst semi sheer drops line the walls. The rear drops open to change the space from a shallow stage to utilize the depth of the Hayes Theatre stage and expose an inexplicable large neon 'Exit' sign.

The darker tone of the work is set from the beginning image of the mysterious man in black , shown for a moment, before the fathers and children fill the space. The fathers' control over their children is demonstrated as puppeteers, manipulating unseen strings as the children engage in a progression of courtship from affection to disinterest. The mysterious man in black, El Gallo, (Martin Crewes) is welcomed by ominous chords from the band of electric guitar and keyboard as he sets the mood with an earie and sinister Try To Remember.

Crewes has created a deliciously dark, seductive, sexy and devilish El Gallo who's words are pointed and drip with distain as a dangerous warning rather than a caring guiding caution. He oozes dangerous charm that makes it believable that Louisa would be lured to the bad boy, even if it does scream of Stockholm syndrome in its presentation with the cherishing of a bruise.

The children at the center of the father's deception, Louisa (Bobbie-Jean Henning) and Matt (Jonathan Hickey), are presented as head in the cloud, wide eyed young adults that live in their own fantasy worlds. They both express the awkwardness of youth from their movement to their mannerisms. Henning has a sweet voice but loses precision with extreme movement. Hickey could benefit from refining of the sound balance as his gentler vocals are often lost under duets and ensemble pieces.

Fathers Hucklebee (Lawrence Coy) and Bellomy (Garry Scale) provide a delightful comedy to the dark story. Coy and Scale also double as the geriatric touring actors, Mortimer and Henry. With strong defined voices and vaudeville style physicality, the duo provide fabulous caricatures of the devious fathers and doddering thespians and their facial expressions are priceless. Dallimore's choice to have these two cover dual roles is however unexplained beyond keeping the work as compact as possible.

Whilst the music has been updated to utilize an electric guitar, with a wonderful solo from Glenn Moorhouse, and Keyboard (Hayden Barltrop), to provide a darker rock feel, it is interesting that Dallimore has not updated other aspects of the work. She has chosen to use the Tom Jones' (Book and Lyrics) original lyrics for It Depends On What You Pay rather than his later reworking that better defined that the Fathers wanted to pay El Gallo to stage an abduction. It is also interesting that she chose not to give the impression of holding the image of the perfect family in stasis despite the text and the simplicity of the positioning. There are some wonderful moments of physicality choreographed by Cameron Mitchell and an energetic fight scene choreographed by Scott Witt which help detract from the controversial text.

This is an interesting interpretation of THE FANTASTICKS and provides an enjoyable piece of theatre with a darker underlying message.

Photos: Marnya Rothe

THE FANTASTICKS

Hayes Theatre

19 Greenknowe Avenue Potts Point

Monday 11 January - Sunday 31 January 2016

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