“The Fantasticks” comes to Black Box Theater
Published: September 30, 2008
The MSU Bozeman Department of Media and Theatre Arts presents Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's classic musical, “The Fantasticks,” 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 17-Nov. 1 in the Black Box Theater on campus.
Adapted from Edmond Rostand's Les Romanesques, it's the tale of a boy and girl who fall in love – partly as a result of their fathers' machinations – but have to endure a loss of innocence before they can truly commit to each other.
The cast is directed by Stephanie Campbell and features MSU theatre arts professors Joel Jahnke and Tom Watson in the comic roles of traveling players Henry and Mortimer. Local favorites Gary Fish and Frank Simpson play the two fathers.
Perfect for an intimate setting, “The Fantasticks” relies on a simple presentation: a bare stage, a handful of props, and plenty of imagination. The simplicity of the story is balanced by an inspired score, with several songs that are now standards, including "Try to Remember," "Much More" and "Soon It's Gonna Rain."
“The Fantasticks” is the first musical produced in the new Black Box Theater, adjacent to the MSU Visual Communications Building at 11th and Grant. The Black Box is also the new home to offices for some faculty in MSU Department of Media and Theater Arts and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, of which Jahnke is artistic director.
At 50-by-50 feet square, the Black Box Theater is deceptively large inside, seating an audience of as many as 236 people, depending on configuration. But according to Jahnke, the theater's largest asset is that it provides huge flexibility to both theater-goers and those who produce MSU plays.
"Audiences will experience a new sort of theater that they aren't used to,” he told Carol Schmidt of MSU News Service. “This type of theater is intensely involving. The audience automatically becomes part of the performance when you come to see a play in this space."
Tickets for “The Fantasticks” are $10 for students/seniors and $12 general admission, and are available in advance at First Interstate Bank on campus, the front desk of the VCB (11th and Grant Sts.) or by phone at 406-994-5884.
