THE KIND OF SEPTEMBER
YOU’LL WANT TO REMEMBER

With the original opening Off-Broadway in 1960 and running an astounding 42 years, The Fantasticks is a veritable classic amongst the repertoire of musical theater. This perennially popular piece by composer Harvey Schmidt and librettist & lyricist Tom Jones is a two-act chamber piece—an eight-character, minimalistic, melancholic, commedia dell’arte-style parable with unimprovable songs scored for piano and harp.

Rhett Hemingway, Sophie Pollono

The Fantasticks is a sly fable in which two matchmaking fathers, Matt’s dad Hucklebee and Luisa’s father Bellomy, pretend to feud so their love-struck kids will do what all teens do when told “no”: fall harder. With help from a rakish narrator named El Gallo and two washed-up thespians straight out of vaudeville, they stage a fake abduction (called a “rape” in the original, but let’s not dwell). Act I glows with moonlit romance as Matt and Luisa tumble into love across a garden wall. But in Act II, the sun comes out, and with it, reality: dreams fray, illusions crack, and our young lovers must earn their happy ending the hard way—by growing up.

Rhett Hemingway, Kiel Kennedy, Danny Bernardo, Michael D. Cohen, Raven Scott, Sophie Pollono

Now, with Elina de Santos‘s breezy staging and Victoria Hoffman‘s uncannily perfect casting, Ruskin Group Theatre offers an enchanting, wistful production that positively captures the essence of this historical musical, solidly proving why the make-believe engages our imagination even as it flatters our experience. To witness this production—and the star-turns by its star-crossed lovers, Rhett Hemingway as Matt and Sophie Pollono as Luisa—is to understand why audiences have consistently embraced the show’s romance, magic, bawdy comedy, subtle sophistication, complexity, powerful lyrics, and rhymed prose—all of which made The Fantasticks the longest-running musical in history running for 17,162 performances (the 2006 revival with a young Santino Fontana added 4,390 more).

Kiel Kennedy, Rhett Hemingway, Sophie Pollono, Raven Scott

Outstanding versions like this one are not easy to find and prove that you gotta have heart. When I saw the NYC original in 1991, it was like a tourist machine with all the soul sucked out of it. And bigger is NOT better. That 30th anniversary tour with Robert Goulet retooled with a full orchestra didn’t resonate. Director Jason Alexander—who killed L.A.’s erstwhile Reprise Theatre Co. with overblown productions—turned the show’s potion into bubbly froth. And you wanna know how timeless the sweeping 2000 film adaptation with Joel Grey was? It grossed $49,666 against a $10 million budget. Of the dozens of versions I’ve seen, the only two that resonated were Amanda Dehnert’s defunct seaside amusement park at South Coast Rep in 2013 and a new version at CV Rep 10 years later penned by Mr. Jones, which reimagined the plot with two gay teens, Matt and Lewis, and two mothers.

Raven Scott, Michael D Cohen

So why does this revival work? The Fantasticks may be a staple of regional, community, and high school stages, but it’s often treated without subtlety—becoming twee, overblown, or steeped in caricature, as if the material itself can’t be trusted. De Santos clearly does. She allows her cast to approach the piece with genuine discovery and intention, making it feel as if we’re seeing it for the first time. There’s also a palpable joy in the storytelling, a spirit that should inspire younger audiences who might otherwise struggle to connect with the show’s reliance on imagination—and its deep well of nostalgia (“Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow”). Then again, millennials overloaded by constant communication may find themselves aching for a past that never quite existed for them. Not too grand and not too precious, Ruskin’s Fantasticks is just right.

In Santa Monica at last Friday’s opening, a few voices faltered and the harp is played on synth, but that only adds to a scrappiness that enhances the fact that this is a traveling troupe of some kind offering a tale that will withstand the ages (the libretto is loosely based on Edmund Rostand’s Les Romanesques, a short play that is actually a parody of Pyramus and Thisbe, Romeo and Juliet and more).

Sophie Pollono, Raven Scott

I just saw every Broadway opening this spring, and I’m here to tell you—Sophie Pollono is absolutely ready for the Great White Way. You can hear it for yourself on the newly released studio cast album CD of Jo – The Little Women Musical; there’s Pollono sounding terrific as Amy March, holding her own alongside Laura Benanti and Christine Ebersole (a West End production is on the way). As Luisa, she’s vulnerable, sassy, and overflowing with more love than a Hallmark factory. Her active listening and spontaneous reactions are priceless. And it’s a rare pleasure to hear a soprano voice this sweet and unforced—and no microphones are used in this intimate space.

Rhett Hemingway, Sophie Pollono

Rhett Hemingway is her equal as Matt. Watching him test-drive bluster, bravado, poetry, and defiance with the teenage zeal of true love is a delight—and his sweet tenor voice makes it even better. Scrunching his face into that yearning, dreamy expressiveness, he’s not unlike Timothée Chalamet, just more handsome. The lovers’ devotion in “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and “They Were You.” is delicious. In fact, when will the recording of these two be available?

Kiel Kennedy, Danny Bernardo, Michael D. Cohen, Sophie Pollono

I’ve watched Kiel (pronounced “Kyle”) Kennedy many years as a long-time Groundlings member, and he was the best thing about Rogue Machine’s Human Error last August, so it doesn’t surprise me that he slides right into a musical. Some would expect an improv pro to go for over-the-top wacky, but he keeps it superbly grounded. And with Kennedy towering over Michael D. Cohen‘s exasperated Bellomy, it’s a double act rarely seen on stage anymore.

Michael Redfield, John Wuchte, Raven Scott

The ever-impressive John Wuchte even dons drag at one point, ensuring that his Henry lands squarely in music hall panto territory—what a kick to see this kind of exaggerated, even a little violent, comedy done so well. As Henry’s sidekick, Mortimer, Michael Redfield—who once worked with Pollono’s dad on Small Engine Repair—nails it yet again, playing a hammy thespian whose specialty is melodramatic death scenes. I was astonished to see Redfield, who also serves as music director, dash behind the platform to tackle the show’s notoriously difficult piano part with aplomb. (He’s joined by Nisha Sue Arunasalam on piano-as-harp and Wuchte on percussion and melodica.)

Danny Bernardo has a lovely baritone as the narrator and Luisa’s would-be bandit, El Gallo. He carries just the right balance of mischief and melancholy. With expressive reactions, Raven Scott ably assists him as The Mute (I love the glittery confetti rain).

Raven Scott, Danny Bernardo

Bruce Goodrich‘s set is quintessential, with a platform and removeable white muslin announcing “The Fantasticks.” And that onstage prop box is used to hilarious effect for entrances and exits to the backstage. A glorious you-go-girl to Sophie’s mom, Jennifer Pollono, for the colorful, textured players’ outfits; the sparkly black suit for El Gallo; and that delightful Act I dress for Luisa: innocent, white, trimmed, and sexy as hell. Matt Richter has simply spoiled me with his creative wizardry in small spaces, yet here he is again giving us the sun and the moon. Jennifer Oundjian and Erik Hall effectively cram a lot of flamboyant choreography into this teeny space, especially in the rapid waltz “Round and Round,” where El Gallo shields Luisa from the tragedies of the world with a supernatural mask. And a special thanks to the hard-working producer Michael Myers, who has spearheaded Ruskin’s new two-theatre space, which opens this November.

It’s rare to see something so familiar feel this fresh. And that, in itself, is a kind of necromancy. In an age of overload, it’s lovely to be reminded that simplicity and sincerity never go out of style. Sometimes the smallest stories leave the biggest impressions. This Fantasticks proves it.

photos by Andy DePung

The Fantasticks
Ruskin Group Theatre
3000 Airport Avenue in Santa Monica
Fri and Sat at 8; Sun at 2
ends on August 24, 2025
for tickets, call 310.397.3244 or visit  Ruskin