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“The Fantasticks” will be performed at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny Park on Friday and Saturday, July 25, 26, August 1, 2, 8 & 9 at 8:00 PM with Sunday matinees on July 27 and August 3 at 2:30 PM. The Town Players are also accepting donations to the New Canaan Food Bank before each performance and will deliver them on the Monday morning following each weekend’s performances. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors (62 and older). To reserve seats please call (203) 966-7371, or visit www.tpnc.org. Mr. Day loves most two things about the show: its simplicity and that it’s a love story. “Life gets complex and burdensome,” he opines. “Love, not time, heals all wounds. This show is not Disneyland; in a real way you are going to have struggles and take bumps and bruises. But if you hold steady, that’s the depth of life.” He admires the musical’s rich traditions, woven in the theatrical and literary styles of Greek tragedy, commedia dell’arte, and Rostand’s “Les Romanesques,” which was first translated into English as “The Fantasticks” for a British panto performance in 1909. Mr. Day’s background in dance, musical theatre and movement is well suited to “The Fantasticks,” which requires staging that allows music, dialogue and dance to flow seamlessly and quickly from one mood to another. A Clarion University theatre major, he played leading roles in dramas. After one year in summer stock at West Chester University, he moved to Boston, studied the Horton technique of modern dance with the legendary dancers Danny Sloan and Talley Beatty and performed with various dance companies. He played Larry, the dance captain, in “A Chorus Line,” and remained with the show for three years, a year-and-a-half on Broadway and then on the international tour with the original cast that performed in thirteen countries. Burned out, he moved to Hawaii, learned yoga, and stayed for four years, directing five-year old kindergarten kids through university shows. Upon his return to the mainland, Mr. Day taught yoga and movement at SUNY Purchase’s Actors’ Conservatory program for seven years.
Appearing as Henry, the old actor, and Mortimer his sidekick of forty years, will be P. J. Morello and Ed Donahue. They portray the has been players who aide El Gallo in his machinations and who revel in extravagant, theatrical gesture, flowery speech, and comic movement. Having a role where one does not sing or say a single word may seem odd, but for Terry Le Bel, as the Mute, it means handing actors their props, hanging and taking down silk drops, moving furniture, and whenever she is the wall, going up and down a tall ladder. This very quiet mute keeps a very happy musical moving along. Light designer Jeffrey Klein is the creator of the ever changing nuance and drama of dreamy to phantasmagoric, fight scene to romance, and Sheila Toner is running the busy light board. Steve Gravereaux, Patrick Kiley, Tim Cronin, and Sheri Dean constructed the set, a simple platform with plumber’s pipes verticals and horizontals, while Cathy Townsend helped sew the silk drops and flames. Deborah Shields has created the colorful costumes. Cheryl Petrone is doing make up while Marge Foster helped on props. Producers Sheri Dean and Lynne Bolton are doubling up with other responsibilities. Sheri is stage manager and Lynne is handling front of house chores. © Copyright by NorwalkPlus.com. Some articles and pictures posted on our website, as indicated by their bylines, were submitted as press releases and do not necessarily reflect the position and opinion of NorwalkPlus.com, Norwalk Plus magazine, Canaiden LLC or any of its associated entities. Articles may have been edited for brevity and grammar. Related Articles: Town players of New Canaan’s summer show is Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt’s musical "The Fantasticks" - Jul 15, 2008 - 6:38 AM Westport Country Playhouse kicks off summer - May 26, 2008 - 6:49 AM CURRENT HEADLINES: Top of Page
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