Dreamy, Beautiful Fun — Rancho Cucamonga Community Theatre's 'The Fantasticks'

The Fantasticks, Tom Jones's 1960 musical mashup of Shakespeare's Midsummer and Romeo & Juliet, springs to new, fun-filled life at Rancho Cucamonga Community Theatre. Beautifully envisioned and executed by director Dimyana Pelev and RCCT's crackerjack production team, we are transported into the romantic, chimerical world of a gigantic music box. Mute sprites Ayssa Good and Olivia Spirz crank an over-sized key, the box top flies away, sparking the gorgeous live piano and harp music (by Ronda Rubio and Celia Chan Valerio), breathing life into the trinket's resident figurines.

First up, the star-crossed, moonstruck lovers Matt and Luisa (aka Romeo and Juliet, aka Pyramus and Thisbe) around whom this fantastical world revolves. Matt is well-read and poetic, but all he wants is "to deny biology and achieve the ignorance that true love brings." Luisa, a former ugly duckling now obsessed with her own nubility, wants nothing more than to avoid normality, and be rescued by her estranged prince before she's "real old, like 40." A heavenly match if ever there was one... if it wasn't for that Wall — that vile wall which did these lovers sunder. Unbeknownst to the youngins, the wicked wall was purposely constructed by their fathers, Bellomy and Hucklebee (Capulet and Montague; Oberon and Titania), who're only pretending to feud and forbid their children's love. An arranged marriage would never work, they conclude, "because the best way to manipulate children is to say 'No.'"

Great singing, chemistry, and character choices can be seen all around. Jarred Barnard's cartoonish, Mayberry accent, and Lindsey Rupp's squeaky, ditzy delivery are perfect for their twitterpated characters. Ms. Rupp's operatic stylings, truthfulness, and sharp comedic delivery were especially delightful. Not to be outdone, the vaudevillian duet fathers (played by James Ellis and Bill Rains) will sing and dance their way into your heart during their misadvertur'd  piteous overthrows. Yes, they faked an abduction as a pretense for tearing down the wall and getting their kids to wed. Yet they forgot to instill in Matt and Lisa the wisdom of what true love and a successful marriage entails. In Act II, we see the honeymoon phase cut short by reality's brutal truths.

Then there's the rustic, play-within-a-play characters of Henry (excellently played by David Billman) and his funny sidekick Mortimer (Michael Vandie). Bottom Henry is a dusty, crusty loudmouthed vagabond who happens to be a world-renowned actor (He has the newspaper clippings to prove it, if you'd like to see 'em! Whether or not you ask for 'em, he'll show you the clippings!). Of course, like everyone else, these lowly players are just pawns of the story's magical narrator, a puckish El Gallo (well-voiced by Tim Martin). Sporting a full five-o-clock shadow and shiny Zorro duds — sans the accent and over-the-top suave I expected from this kind of character, in this kind of production — Gallo's there to cause a bit of mischief and guide the humans to their inevitable happy ending.

The classic script simply calls for an upstage platform. However, the design team (including Karen Fix Curry, Costumes; V. Michelle Bierman, Make-up/Hair; Andrew Nagy, Sound; Jean-Yves Tessier, Production; Tony Schondel, Technical) has gone far beyond this basic mandate to give their audience a dazzling treat that's easy on the eyes and ears. RCCT's presentation is sure to wow you, whether you're a diehard Fantastick-ite, or convinced that you've seen it too many times to be impressed.

"The Fantasticks" continues at Rancho Cucamonga Community Theatre until March 10th. Get your tix here or by calling (909) 477-2752.

LA theater reviews by LA Theater Critic.