From the Director:
I’m drawn to the timeless message “without a hurt, the heart is hollow” and the humorous and tender plot which unfolds in beautiful and poetic language. And the music … guaranteed you will spend the next few days humming the melodies.
Leann Dickson
The Music Director Perspective:
Musically, THE FANTASTICKS can stand on its own with no script at all. It could make a beautiful concert. Every song is it’s own work of art with its own arc. From the art songs like “Much More” and “Metaphor,” to the Vaudeville-style songs like “Plant a Radish” and “Never Say No” — and then beautifully written standards like “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” “Try to Remember,” and “They Were You” — Each song is like a framed picture you could hang in a gallery.
How will our production be different? We will be using the standard orchestration of piano, harp, percussion, and bass. However, I feel like this orchestration lends itself to very vertical, percussion-like phrasing. We needed an instrument to play horizontal lines like a flute. Hence – our secret weapon is Rachael Schlafer-Parton. She will be adding flute – piccolo – bass flute – bowed psaltery and even a syringe as an instrument. No other version of this show will sound quite like The WordPlayers’ version. You won’t want to miss this beautifully musical rendition of THE FANTASTICKS.
Sheryl Lawrence Howard