Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Girl meets boy. Girl loves boy.
Parents hate each other. No, this isn’t “Romeo and
Juliet” or a plot line from daytime TV. It’s something
you can go see at church.
Beginning tonight and running through through Feb. 16, Westwood
Presbyterian Church will be hosting a venue for an Equity
production of the Off-Broadway musical “The
Fantasticks.”
While some may think that a secular musical in a church is
unorthodox (especially because of the play’s nature and its
numerous sensual scenes), Pamela Shaw, producer of the show, says
she believes the setting is appropriate.
“Having the performance in a church doesn’t alter
the atmosphere of the piece, but would rather heighten the
experience,” said Shaw. “In fact, there’s nothing
more explicit than the Bible ““ it talks about rape,
prostitution, killing, coveting another man’s wife, along
with much more explicit material.”
The Westwood Presbyterian Church, known for its more academic
and open-minded view on religion, has been more than welcoming to
non-religious presentations and last year even showed the
controversial musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
That’s not to say that “The Fantasticks” would
be too shocking for conservative audiences. As the world’s
longest running musical (1960-2002), the play has drawn eclectic
audiences all over the world.
The original storyline travels through the lives of next-door
neighbors Matt and Louisa, whose love is forbidden by their feuding
families. The two are eventually torn apart and spend the course of
the play trying to reunite.
“The tale has a universal theme that centralizes on the
naiveté of love,” said Shaw. “It demonstrates how
people always think there’s something better out for them,
but then return experienced and wiser to realize that their love
was pure and the best.”
Director Victoria Mayhew’s makeover of “The
Fantasticks” involves revolutionary changes in costumes in an
attempt to show the universality of the theme; some characters are
dressed in Victorian garb, others in Elizabethan clothes while only
the leading roles sport modern attire. Mayhew also modified stage
setting and stage directions, all in hopes of making it more
accessible to younger audience members.
“When I first saw this play, I hated it; it wasn’t
until I reread the book that I began to see the makings of a great
production,” Mayhew said. “I wanted to have the actors
discover the characters for themselves not being able to play off
what they already thought of them (in order) to have a more
realistic portrayal for the audience.”
Such focus on characterization allows the audience to
concentrate on the development and maturity of the characters,
according to Will Heermance, a 2001 UCLA alumnus who plays the male
lead in the production.
Mayhew hopes that the church’s close proximity to UCLA
will draw college students who can relate to the themes of the
production and develop new perspectives on self-confidence and on
relationships.
“One of the main things I want audience members getting
from this play is that you don’t have to have … whatever is
most in fashion at the time to be happy,” said Mayhew.
“It’s always important to be true to yourself and
realize your own potential.”
THEATER: “The Fantasticks” is playing at the
Westwood Presbyterian Church located between Malcolm and Glendon at
10822 Wilshire Blvd. It is playing Feb. 7-9 and Feb. 14-16, Friday
and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. Student tickets are $10,
general admission is $20. For more information, call: (310)
474-4535 ext. 8.