The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ new show isn’t quite living up to its name, and it’s a real shame.Featuring book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, the 1960 musical The Fantasticks has gone on to hold the record as the longest running musical in history. It’s closing out The Rep’s 2009-2010 Mainstage Season, and, unfortunately in this case, they didn’t save the best for last.

The Fantasticks, despite its record-breaking success, is the perennial scrappy underdog—a show that’s minimalism and earnestness seem to work better when less slickly and carefully mounted than this. It’s a small story and, unfortunately, one that doesn’t really come together in the end in its current incarnation.

The story is a simple one—but sincere—that parodies the myth of the star-crossed lovers found most prominently in plays like Romeo and Juliet. Luisa, played by Stella Heath, is a daffy 16-year-old girl whose dreams of storybook adventures are encouraged by her 20-year-old neighbor, Matt, played by Cory Michael Smith. In an effort to drive the two together, their fathers have built a wall between their two houses, hoping—as they sing in the number ‘Never Say No’—that pretending to forbid a romance will ultimately drive the two children to fall in love. El Gallo—a concoct a scenario wherein Matt saves Luisa—hires two aging actors to help him in the charade, and a character known only as The Mute serves as a Puck-like bit of whimsy, fulfilling a variety of incidental and comic roles.

The actors are all giving it their all, with varying results, but the production as a whole never seems to capture the ultimate whimsy at the heart of this show that can make or break such thin material. It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly the problem is, but it’s clear that the show’s second half suffers the worst from this. The second act—which begins as all of the action described earlier has already occurred—tones down the whimsy and, instead, offers up a kind of critique of the happily ever after ending.

Unfortunately, the direction of the show’s second half is jumbled and hard to follow, losing grasp on the show’s message in the process. This is a fairly delicate show, and if you don’t handle it with care, it can fall to pieces.

All of this is not to say that the show is a total wash. All of the actors, from Smith and Heath to Sara M. Bruner as The Mute, are full of energy and spunk and are endearing stage presences, and though their voices are not as consistent throughout as one would hope, the music is such that the orchestration itself is charming to hear.

Ultimately, The Fantasticks is a show that trades on nostalgia and will, therefore, work better for those with fond memories of past productions. The actors give it all they’ve got, but it’s sad to see the show never fully come together.
The Fantasticks will be playing at The Rep until April 11.

For more information about this or any show upcoming at The Rep, visit www.therepstl.org.