Festus High School will put on a production of the world’s longest-running musical, “The Fantasticks,” this week.
The original off-Broadway show ran for 42 years, closing in 2002 after 17,162 performances.
It will have a much shorter run at Festus High, with performances at 7 p.m. tonight and Friday and at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets for the show cost $5 at the door, which opens an hour before curtain time at the school, 501 Westwind Drive.
Seating will be in blocks for social distancing and face masks will be required.
The Support Our Stars (SOS) parents booster group will sell concessions, as well as chances to win one of two “Fantastick Festus” baskets filled with gift cards and items, mostly from local merchants.
William Borgmeyer, who’s been directing plays at Festus High School for 16 years, said he has wanted to stage a production of “The Fantasticks” for a long time.
“I was in it in college, and so was (choir teacher Christopher Boemler, who provides musical accompaniment),” Borgmeyer said. “My brother (David), while he was in college, toured Ireland with it. I thought, ‘Why don’t we try it?’”
Borgmeyer said he resisted staging “The Fantasticks” before because it has only an eight-member cast.
“Especially for our spring musical, I always want to get as many students involved as I can,” he said. “But this year seemed right. We have to start preparing for the musical in December, and with everything going on with COVID, we weren’t sure which way it was going to go. So it seemed, not knowing if the play would be canceled like it was last year, it would be better to plan for a smaller production rather than one with a cast of 40-plus.”
The story revolves around two teenagers, Matt (senior Grant Otto) and Luisa (senior Abby Ohlau), whose meddling parents use reverse psychology to kindle a romance between their children, building a wall and pretending to feud. The ruse works initially, but Luisa and Matt decide to part and seek out their fortunes before eventually reconnecting.
Ohlau said the story is enjoyable.
“My character is 16 (when the play starts) and she’s a terrible ditz,” Ohlau said. “She wants all the attention. And I’m not sure there’s a lot of character development as the play goes on, but she’s a fun part to play.”
Ohlau, 17, who plans to study musical theater at Southern Illinois University Carbondale next year, said the part is a departure from her previous roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
“In this play, I have to interact with everyone else, rather than just singing on the sideline, commenting on what’s going on (like she did in the two previous Festus High shows). It’s harder, but I enjoy being more involved with everything.”
Otto said his leading role is also a departure after playing supporting characters in several productions.
“I think this will be a good send-off,” said Otto, who plans to study aerospace engineering at Florida Tech next year. “I was disappointed last year, when I was going to be the Tin Man in ‘The Wizard of Oz” (which was canceled because of the pandemic), but this is such a good role for me. It’s almost perfectly suited to my vocal range.”
Borgmeyer, who will get help with the production from fellow teacher Erin Pruneau, said another reason “The Fantasticks” was a good choice this year is that the play demands strong singers, and Ohlau, Otto and Amanda Allen, a senior who plays Hucklebee, all won gold medals for vocal solo performances at the recent state solo and ensemble competition, and senior Ryan Esparza, who plays El Gallo, won a gold medal in his sophomore year.
“The Fantasticks” also will mark the final play for senior Jeanna Brantley, who has headed the Festus High tech crew for three years and has been involved in backstage work for four.
Brantley, 18, who is headed to Southeast Missouri State University to major in special education and minor in music, said the show is smaller in scope, but that doesn’t make the behind-the-scenes work less challenging.
“Although there are not necessarily a lot of lighting and sound cues, many of them come in the middle of scenes, when people are singing and dancing,” she said. “While the stage is smaller because the cast is smaller, there’s always some action going on that we (the tech crew) have to pick up on.”
Rounding out the cast are
Trinity O’Leary, Logan Kuykendall, Kyle Schackmann and Chaz Seitz.