Today is Sunday, and this week’s Report contains my detailed notes on The Fantasticks at the Helen Hayes Theater and my abbreviated notes on Passing Strange at Pasadena Playhouse. Plus, a quote of the week; select press announcements from the past week; and the upcoming week’s previews and openings. Note: I am in the midst of writing a new book, so my notes on this fall’s productions are likely to be uncharacteristically brief; today’s notes on The Fantasticks are an exception.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The text, by Tom Jones, for a speech from the 1960 musical The Fantasticks. It is delivered directly to the audience by the Narrator.

You wonder how these things begin.
Well, this begins with a glen.
It begins with a season which,
For want of a better word,
We might as well call – September.

It begins with a forest where the woodchucks woo,
And leaves wax green,
And vines entwine like lovers; try to see it,
Not with your eyes, for they are wise,
But see it with your ears:
The cool green breathing of the leaves.
And hear it with the inside of your hand:
The soundless sound of shadows flicking light.
Celebrate sensation.
Recall that secret place.
You’ve been there, you remember:
That special place where once –
Just once – in your crowded sunlit lifetime,
You hid away in shadows from the tyranny of time.
That spot beside the clover
Where someone’s hand held your hand
And love was sweeter than the berries,
Or the honey,
Or the stinging taste of mint.

It is September –
Before a rainfall –
A perfect time to be in love.

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THE FANTASTICKS AT THE HELEN HAYES THEATER

The Fantasticks, a revival of the 1960 musical, opens on Broadway tomorrow evening at the Helen Hayes Theater, under the auspices of Second Stage. It has a book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt, and direction and choreography by Christopher Gattelli, and it is a solidly mediocre production, blessed with some real assets, of a solidly mediocre property. (Ryan Bogner, Tracey McFarland, Daryl Roth, and Adam Hess are the commercial producers.)

To begin with, Gattelli deserves a hand. I have been extraordinarily hard on him over the last two years – for sound and specific reasons – and I am genuinely happy to report that The Fantasticks is his most inspired and skillful work to date, at least from a directorial standpoint. (Even if that is not saying much.) He has created, for the piece, a wonderfully tasteful onstage world, powdered with theatrical enchantment, and he has, for the most part, sculpted the stage, synchronized elements, and, strictly from a standpoint of composition, defined moments in a moderately sharp manner. (Much could be sharper, better synchronized, more dynamic.)

His use of isolation and colored washes, in particular, is especially strong: the two downlight boxes delineating the two separate gardens; the beam of angled backlight enshrining a trunk upon which Lewis and the Narrator are sitting; the dual-follow-spot button of “Never Say No”; the rich saturation of the double-door reveal; etc. And, all the while, emitting a soft atmospheric glow are the sconces ornamenting the upstage wall and the caged footlights lining the inset thrust. (The whitewashed unit set, by Jason Sherwood, and the lighting, by Jen Schriever, are marvelous.)

If the (different) preset look, referencing the show’s Off-Broadway origins, induces dread, two gestures at the top of the show happily disconcert, suggesting Gattelli has a grip on the stage and a point of view. One involves the bowing of an actor, and the other involves the same actor blowing out a ghost light. The new prologue is nonetheless feeble and insignificant. The staging of actors in scene and song throughout the show is not consistently clean or shapely or precise. And the nice ideas had by Gattelli are not quite plentiful. But nothing in the way of the staging is outright embarrassing.

The abduction is a generic jumble of action, apart from a hint of distinction in Matt’s sword-fighting plié, undeveloped. Mortimer’s accidental deaths in the abduction are unfunny and fail to escalate. Mortimer’s microwave death is unfunny, and feels out of sync with the character of the show. The Mute’s tap dancing at the top of the second act fails to make a definite statement, to develop into a complete thought, and it similarly feels out of sync with the character of the show – at least as the tap dancing is presently executed. (Why not commit and completely rearrange the number to suit the conceit and the character?) The requests for applause are cheap, deflating, unnecessary. The arm-link exit routine, a solid comic concoction, is flat. The two boys taking their windows offstage is a nice touch. The slight hat-lowering for the button of “Metaphor” is not. The Mute’s confetti tosses earn paltry returns because they are done willy-nilly ad nauseum, and generally without definite material support. The entrance of (attractive) foliage is similarly unsupported and poorly timed. And the grass pit merely lays on the stage, adding nothing to the proceedings. Likewise the foliage unfolded on the front of the thrust.

“Soon It’s Gonna Rain” might have been a marvelous moment for the two boys, but the delicate finger choreography fails to develop into a complete thought, and the remainder of the number spreads out in all directions. A casual thigh-touch on the trunk is completely disregarded. (Why does Gattelli not have Lewis take in or even acknowledge such an intimate physical gesture made by a man to whom Lewis is attracted?) The presentation of “It Depends on What You Pay” and “Round and Round” is no more than serviceable, and a ballet bit in the former is something less than, but the choreography for the final phrases of the former is well pressurized, building to a terrific button, and the design of the latter is enticing. The Mute is, from time to time, lost on stage. The grand scenic gesture toward the close of the show is unclear and unessential and unearned, and it diminishes, slightly, the world that Gattelli & Co. have created. One appreciates the lift that Gattelli has attempted to give to the end of “Never Say No.” And one wonders if Gattelli might have made greater use of the trunk, given a line of dialogue about the trunk at the top of the show.

The orchestral vocabulary is lovely, consisting primarily of piano, strings, harp, and woodwind, but the orchestrations, by music supervisor Sam Davis, are not distinctive, and they occasionally step on the vocal line. (See: “Try to Remember.”) Plus, the nature of the incidental music does not always match the nature of the attendant action – like the tree climbing – or the attendant compositional gesture. (No arranger is credited in the program, but Gattelli must ultimately take responsibility for these disconnects.) The underscoring is nonetheless quite effective on the whole.

Maxim Chlumecky, David Patrick Kelly, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Ruthie Ann Miles, and Zane Phillips are delivering juicy performances, with detail and relish and purposeful play. Watching them work, digging into and personalizing the dialogue and lyrics, is frequently a joy. Unfortunately, the material does not, in the end, provide them with a substantial payoff, save perhaps Phillips, in the show’s only definitively present role: the Narrator. And Phillips charms and excites even when he is reclining off-center, watching the work of his fellow actors. (Chlumecky might temper his actor tendency to suck in air through his teeth in moments of intensity, and Phillips might take a touch more time with his September speech – which could be captivating.) Nathan Levy is certainly solid, but he tends to traffic in generalization rather than detail. Kevin Del Aguila is uneasy and labored. And Ahmad Simmons has not made the role his own.

The costume design, by Linda Cho, is delicious, and the sound design, by Nevin Steinberg, is quite fine, marked by an absence of concert headgear. And valuable effects.

Jones, who died in 2023, is responsible for refashioning the material for two boys and two mothers, and the result plays, in principle, very well. It is neither forced nor jarring nor gimmicky, whatever the initial motive may have been and whatever the commercial motive may be. (Michael Lluberes is credited with the idea for the queer take.) Nor is the result entirely free of holes. And nonetheless most of the book, lyrics, and music remain the same: part fine, part faulty, with the songs being rather unremarkable and the second act being rather rough.

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PASSING STRANGE AT PASADENA PLAYHOUSE

Passing Strange is currently playing a regional engagement at Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. It has a book and lyrics by Stew, music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, and direction by Zhailon Levingston, and it is an incredibly poor production of an incredibly fine musical, with individuality and electricity and theatricality and flaws, most of which, like buttons, seams, internal musical development, and sedentary underscoring, might be easily addressed with a minor refresh in production. But Levingston has done no such refresh for this messy, nondescript production, in which the actors, who are solid enough, wander on, off, and about the stage for almost the entirety of the run-time. Where is the skill? Where is the point of view? Where is the style? Where is the invention? Where is the detail? Where is the definition? What is the world? Where is the skill? Levingston has received a great deal of attention in his young career, but he must hone his craft! His work on Passing Strange is unacceptable. And the extent to which the show plays is a testament to the strength of the material.

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PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Here is a list of select press announcements from the past week. Each headline is clickable for more information.

• Tony Hale, Jessie Mueller, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer & More Lead Paddington on Broadway
• Silver Linings Playbook Stage Musical Sets California World Premiere
• Jordan Fisher Will Lead Purple Rain on Broadway
• Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen to End Off-Broadway Run Early
• Full Cast and Additional Details Set for Wild Rose at New York Theatre Workshop
• London Will Get a New Assassins in 2027
• Six: The Musical Adds Bonus Closing Night Performance on Broadway
• Alex Brightman and Sara Chase to Depart Schmigadoon! on Broadway in January
• Michelle Visage Will Make Broadway Debut in Schmigadoon!
• Joy: A New Musical Will Make U.K. Premiere in 2027
• Ali Louis Bourzgui, Shereen Ahmed, Zachary Noah Piser, Brian Stokes Mitchell Will Lead NYC Prince of Egypt Concert

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PREVIEWS AND OPENINGS

Here is a list of the new musicals and revivals either opening or beginning previews during the upcoming week, specifically on Broadway and Off-Broadway. It contains, as well, select new musicals beginning performances regionally, and select new musicals and revivals beginning performances in New York City. Each title is clickable for more information.

Monday, November 16
• Opening: The Fantasticks

Tuesday, November 17
• Previews: The Conversation

Wednesday, November 18

Thursday, November 19

Friday, November 20

Saturday, November 21
• Previews: Imitation of Life

Sunday, November 22

Photo of a scene from The Fantasticks by Joan Marcus.