Theatre UCF is bringing a classic musical to life in their new summer production of The Fantasticks.
The Fantasticks, a musical tale of two young neighbors, Matt and Luisa, and their meddlesome parents, Hucklebee and Bellomy, opens this Thursday at the Main Stage theater on the UCF campus with other performances to follow on select dates.
The musical is known as the longest running production of any kind in the history of American theatre. The play’s director, Be Boyd, is staging the production as if a troupe of traveling actors, “The Vagabond Players,” is presenting the play to the UCF audience.
“I thought it would be an interesting idea to have traveling actors ‘perform’ the story of ‘The Fantasticks,’” says Boyd. “The characters in The Fantasticks are larger than life archetypes of some of the characters we experience in life—the young lovers; the over protective, yet well-meaning parents; the heroes; the villains; the class clowns and the classic storyteller—heard in so many of the wonderful fairy tales we all grew up with.”
The roles of Matt and Luisa are being performed by Salvatore Vieira and Leigh Green. Vieira performed the role of Fakir in last fall’s production of Side Show and Green was Thea in the spring production of Spring Awakening. The roles of the parents will be performed by Musical Theatre faculty members Earl D. Weaver and Tara Snyder.
The Fantasticks will run from June 27-July 21, in repertory with Theatre UCF’s other summer production Boeing Boeing. Standard tickets are $20 each. Senior tickets are $18 and student tickets are available for $10.
Show Schedule:
8 pm: June 27, 28, 29 July 11, 13, 19
2 pm: June 30, July 21
