Playwright: book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt. At: Porchlight Music Theatre at
Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont. Phone: 773-327-5252; $37. Runs through: Nov. 15
When 50 percent of the orchestra consists of a full-sized harp, it's a good guess that this is not Spring Awakening. Our story, in fact, is based on a satirical harlequinade written during the age of Victorian sentimentality. Its score mandates a heroine combining the airheaded effervescence of an adolescent with the lungs of a Wagnerian diva, and a villain whose suave urbanity encompasses a momentary misinterpretation when confronted with two men claiming a "romantic problem," but also a stubborn affinity for the classical definition of the word, "rape" ( meaning "forcible abduction" ) . And let's not forget 19th-century panto characterizations of "exotic" foreigners.
For all its quaint conventions, the plot is simple enough: a pair of young sweethearts are thwarted by the feud between their respective houses—ah, but this tribal enmity is a charade, perpetrated by their respective sires to unite the rebellious children in mutual accord. Once their affections have been ascertained, a happy reconciliation is devised, with the aid of some hired players. But soon the ruse is exposed, the disillusioned lovers grow bored and restless, and it is up to the elders to forge a resolution founded in a more mature covenant.
Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's fanciful fable ran off-Broadway at the Sullivan Street Theatre for a legendary 42 years and has been produced in 700 countries. The challenge nowadays, however, is to retain its requisite delicacy without floating off into cloying sugariness. A Fantasticks erring on the side of neo-Brechtian ironi-hip, on the other hand, would deflate under its own leaden feet. But by keeping the ambience simple and uncluttered to an almost spartan degree, this Porchlight Music Theatre production maintains the correct balance, thanks in no small part to a cast who attack their commedia-trad roles with warmth, gusto and a knowing wink or two.
Dan Ferretti and Ryan Lanning, though a charming duo of squabbling dads, are not yet old enough to project a believable patriarchal gravitas, while Jeff Parker's El Gallo is so internalized as to be downright arthritic. But Emma Rosenthal and Sean Effinger-Dean's virtuoso vocals as the giddy lovebirds, along with Tanya McBride's impish antics in the role of the koken-like Mute, more than compensate for the occasional collegiate moment. And look for UIC professor William F. Raffeld and storefront-circuit favorite Rus Rainear to steal the show at every onstage opportunity.
