On November 21, 22 and 23 the Emery High Drama Department will present its second play of the season, “The Fantasticks.” This musical comedy will be produced in the Emery High Auditorium and will begin at 7 p.m. each night. There is a small admission fee with family and senior citizen rates. This musical comedy is the story of two young lovers who have unknowingly been brought together by their parents. The parents have accomplished this feat by pretending to be enemies and ordering their kids not to date. The parents know that the way to get kids to do anything is to tell them “no.” The problem now is how to end the charade and get the girl and boy married. They decide to hire traveling circus performers to kidnap the girl and then let the boy save her. This will bring the parents together and let the kids have an adventure. The kidnappers do their part and all looks as if it is going to be a success. But the second act lets the kids see each other in the light of day. The girl is not in distress. The boy is not so heroic. And then the kids find out that their parents were behind the scheme from the beginning.
The boy goes off to seek his fortune and the girl falls in love with one of the circus performers. The young man is cheated by his companions and the girl is jilted by the new boyfriend. In the end the kids come to learn about what love is and about being happy with what you’ve got. The music was written by Harvey Schmidt and the book and lyrics by Tom Jones. Among the songs are “There Was You,” “Don’t Say No,” and the most well-known song from the play “Try To Remember The Kind Of September.” When the Fantasticks was on Broadway it broke all records for the longest running play in the history of Broadway. It was later passed up by “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera.” The play is entirely cast by Emery High School students. They include: Bethany Peacock as Luisa, Tyrell Jewkes as Matt, Kenny Larsen as El Gallo, Cadence Tuttle as Mrs. Huckleby, Meagan Rogers as Mrs. Bellomy, Seth Bott as the Mute, Brandt Peacock as Henry, and Jacob Bawden as Mortimer. Musical Direction is by Marilee Cox with the soloist coach Natalie Blackwell. Pianists are Merilee Cox and Gwen Peacock.
The set has been designed and built by students in the Emery High drama classes. This will be the second musical for the Emery High Drama Department this year, following only a month after “Dracula: The Musical?” This will also be the 93rd play directed by Neal Peacock in his 20 year career. The Emery High Drama Department plans on producing a total of six plays this season as well as participating in Region and State Speech and Drama. Tickets for the “Fantasticks” can be purchased at the door on the night of each performance. Peacock calls this a “sweet and romantic comedy that also has a nice message.” It is entirely appropriate for the family. The play begins at 7 p.m. each night.
“The Fantasticks” Coming to Emery High
