'The Fantasticks' lives up to its name + 4 more Cape Cod theater shows critics say you should see

What did our reviewers think of shows new to or still on Cape Cod stages this week and why?

Here's a look at productions of "The Fantasticks" at Cape Playhouse; "Circle Mirror Transformation" at Cotuit Center for the Arts; "The Revolutionists" at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; "Something Rotten" at the Academy Playhouse in Orleans; "From the Heart of the Wreck" at Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster

“The Fantasticks”

By Barbara Clark

Written by: Book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt; directed by David Elliott; presented by Cape Playhouse

What it’s about: This record-breaking 1960s musical tells a whimsical coming-of-age story that uses time-honored theater traditions to present a Boy, a Girl and a romance, complete with obstacles. Through the years, “The Fantasticks” has remained true to the simplicity of its original concept, with its cast of nearly-real characters, who could almost be players in a friendly traveling carnival troupe, performing their fantasy of romance and reality. It’s a magical story with deep roots that has continued to resonate with audiences over time.

See it or not: See it for the fun of its poetry, with snap-your-fingers lines tuned into the beat rhythms of the late 1950s. See this production for its unique stage design, set off with sparkling lights and lava-lamp colors of purple, blue, red and glowing fuchsia. Enjoy the simple, familiar score that will tug your memory with songs like “Try to Remember” and the sublime “They Were You.” But most of all, see it — or rather, hear it — just for the bliss of savoring a cast of phenomenal voices, each topping the one before.

More to see: It's a 'Fantasticks' finale for Cape Playhouse season + 5 more shows at Cape Cod theaters

Highlights: The vocal performances in this show are simply sensational, especially shining in the show’s numerous duets. The Boy (an exceptional Levin Valayil) and Girl (a glorious Rebekkah Vega-Romero) top the charts with the perfectly pitched “Metaphor” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” each song with challenging key changes. El Gallo (David Hughey) thrills in “I Can See It” in a virtuoso exchange with the Boy. The Fathers (William Thomas Evans and Eric Michael Gillett) are funny, skillful, tuned-in performers as they share “Never Say No” and “Plant a Radish” — the latter perhaps reminiscent of the classic Two Men duo in “Kiss Me Kate.”

Intriguing fact: The show’s iconic orchestral effects have continued through the years, becoming in effect another main character. The original score called for harp and piano, and here, director David Elliott has topped them off with a little percussion to accentuate the production’s unique rhythm.

Worth noting: “The Fantasticks,” which opened in 1960, is the world’s longest-running musical of all time, running Off-Broadway for 17,162 performances, then adding another 4,390 at The Jerry Orbach Theater before finally bringing down the curtain. The show also holds the record for the longest uninterrupted running of a show of any kind in the United States.

One more thing: The Cape Playhouse show’s “minor” roles offer major pleasure. Charity Van Tassel may be quiet, but she’s plenty expressive and beguiling as The Mute, who watches over the cast as they stumble through their growing pains. Christopher Gurr as the forgetful Old Actor and Jonathan Spivey as his cockney cohort The Man Who Dies are simply grand, lighting up the stage with their gentle humor.

If you go: 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday through Sept. 17, with matinees 4 p.m. Sept. 10 and 2 p.m. Sept. 14-15 at Cape Playhouse, Route 6A, Dennis. Tickets: $45-$80. Reservations: 508-385-3911, or http://www.capeplayhouse.com/

"Circle Mirror Transformation”

By Sue Mellen

Written by: Annie Baker, directed by Celia Krefter, presented by Cotuit Center for the Arts.

What it's about: It seems innocent enough. Five Vermonters come together in a drama class at the community center in the small town of Shirley. We’ve all taken these kinds of classes as a stress-free way to get out of the house and get through a long New England winter. But — you guessed it — the class turns out to be anything but stress-free, as the participants confront secrets from their pasts, build new relationships and batter others to the breaking point.

More on stage: Finding humor in aging, tackling racism and 4 more Cape Cod theater shows

arty (Davien Gould), the class instructor, leads the would-be Oscar winners in a series of exercises apparently designed to teach them to dig deep inside. One moment the actors (played by Bonnie Fairbanks, Ricky Bourgeois, Robert Boch and Talia Hankin) are posing as inanimate objects like sturdy oaks and soft, cushiony beds; the next, they are sharing secrets they thought they’d laid to rest. “Digging deep” exposes the fledgling actors’ soft underbellies, including a possible romantic relationship and a potentially troubled marriage.

See it or not: Go for a touching look at how we humans fall apart and come together.

Highlight of the show: This, of course, is a study in human relationships, with the acting class a device for bringing people together in an atmosphere designed to dredge up emotions. That makes it critical that the actors know their characters inside and out and portray relationships that seem authentic to the audience. The players seem inextricably connected as they venture from one relationship landmine to the next. Gould is especially touching as the teacher watching her class affect her own relationship. Perhaps director Krefter and drama consultant Kim Baker turned rehearsals into experiential acting classes of their own to construct these relationships.

Fun fact: The experiential drama class portrayed brings to mind some of the experimental acting programs of the 1950s and ‘60s, including Lee Strasberg’s famous Actors Studio.

Worth noting: The company performs the play in its intimate Morton and Vivian Sigel Black Box Theater, the perfect venue for a show that deals with subjects that are, well, intimate. And the set is sparse and spare, making the relationship-building the clear focus.

One more thing: Baker uses Shirley, Vermont as the setting for two of her other plays, “Body Awareness” and “The Aliens.” She once detailed for Huntington Theatre Company in Boston that the town was Windsor County and had a population of 14,023 in the 2000 census.

If you go: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8-10; 4 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Black Box theater at Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Road (Route 28); $25; 508-428-0669, https://artsonthecape.org/

‘The Revolutionists’

By Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll

Written by: Lauren Gunderson; directed by Megan Nussle; presented by Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater

What it’s about: This very pointed comedy puts a new perspective on history as it focuses on the female point of view in 1793 Paris during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. In a fictional meeting and paean to sisterhood and women taking a stand — sororité to fight fraternité —  four women try to use words and actions to change the world for the better while facing the threat of the guillotine. Three are historical characters: playwright Olympe de Gouges (Christina Leidel); assassin Charlotte Corday (Hannah Hakim), killer of radical and deadly leader Jean-Paul Marat; and deposed queen Marie Antoinette (Paige O’Connor). Plus there’s Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle (Andreá Bellamore), a composite character representing free Black revolutionaries fighting France’s slavery in what was then the resource-rich Saint Domingue.

See it or not: Gunderson’s fast-moving and fast-talking play is a torrent of ideas potently mixed with laughs. The WHAT production is as absorbing as it is supremely entertaining, with a quartet of standout performances under Nussle’s stellar direction. This centuries-old “history” play first produced in 2015 is unfortunately up to the minute as it references fighting for women’s agency over their own bodies, and offers an important reminder to notice who has been telling the history you hear – and how often it has not been women. “Don’t settle for the stories they’re giving you” is one of dozens of key lines that could help some people reconsider what they think they know.

Highlights of the show: The cast and Nussle have succeeded in making every single performance a tour de force, and the actresses make you care very much about this convincing, often passionate and powerful quartet. And as much as you’ll laugh, there is also raw emotion here. While the script becomes somewhat overlong and repetitive in Act 2 – focusing too much on how theater and artistic activism can change thinking when the point has been made – the characters and the believable connection created between them and with the audience keep you riveted.

In Cambridge: Revisiting Anna Deveare Smith's 'Twilight: Los Angeles 1992,' A.R.T. offers powerful look at racism then and now

Leidel’s appealing Olympe struggles between her desire for audience approval of her rare artistic success as a woman, her desire to use her words to save her beloved France, and her paralyzing fear for her own safety. Hakim’s Charlotte is full of fiery good intentions, courageous yet reckless in her need to sacrifice herself because Marat must be stopped. Bellamore creates Marianne as the quartet’s steady and determined heart, focusing the women on doing what’s right even as she suffers personally and pushes that people remember the freedom and equality being fought for in France should also extend to their Black slaves. O’Connor’s Marie Antoinette is hilarious in her early self-absorption, but also endearing when she adds important warmth and compassion to the humor as she realizes the potential of these women.

Fun facts: Gunderson, who lists herself on her website as playwright/screenwriter/feminist, was named the most produced playwright in America by American Theatre Magazine in both 2017 and 2019/2020. Nussle, making her WHAT debut, is founding artistic director of Campfire Quorum, a new nonprofit theater company currently “camped out” (and usually creating outdoor productions) on the Outer Cape.

One more thing: David Orlando’s lighting design, and the sound design by Grace Oberhofer (who says in her program bio that she “likes to tell stories about women — either real or imagined — who are not perfect but rather, amazing”) add crucial and often clever atmosphere and drama that take the overall production to a higher level.

If you go: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 17 on the Julie Harris Stage at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, 2357 Route 6; $25-$40 with discounts for seniors and $15 for students; 508-349-9428, http://www.what.org/.

'Something Rotten'

By Shannon Goheen

Written by: Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell; music and lyrics written by and show conceived by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick; presented by The Academy of Performing Arts

What it’s about: It’s the Renaissance and two brothers, one a poet and one a playwright/director, get dropped by their patron, who is unimpressed with their latest play.  They suffer in the shadow of their nemesis, Renaissance rock star William Shakespeare.  In desperation, older brother Nick Bottom (Rob O’Grady) hires soothsayer Nostradamus (Fred Carpenter) to predict the next big thing in theater.  Nostradamus predicts “Hamlet” plus the unheard-of concept of “the musical” (but gets some facts wrong).  The brothers struggle with “Omelet, the Musical” instead, much to the chagrin of younger brother and poet Nigel Bottom (Oliver Kuehn).  Shakespeare meddles in the brothers’ business, as does busybody Brother Jeremiah (Andrew Haber) and they find themselves in an unfortunate predicament. The elder Bottom’s clever wife, Bea (Denise Page), enlists Shakespeare’s help and all is resolved.

See it or not: This farce is totally silly but thoroughly entertaining.

Highlight of the show: Of all the ensemble songs, “We See the Light” stands out. It’s a well-done spectacle of singing, costuming and stage design. Another great musical moment is “Right Hand Man, Reprise” sung by Page to Kuehn. Her voice is strong and true and the sentiment she creates is the turning point that creates order out of chaos. The biggest crowd pleaser is “Make an Omelet” that features the whole company, while also featuring a play within the play.

Fun fact: The brains behind the musical have interesting backgrounds. Karey Kirkpatrick has worked for Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros, and brother Wayne is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter. They conceived and co-wrote the play and music with O’Farrell, who’s a British comic author and novelist. First produced on Broadway in 2015, the play was nominated for nine Tony Awards.

Worth noting:  References to modern works get laughs and guffaws as old English prose is intermingled with one-liners from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cinderella,” “Cats,” “The Sound of Music,” “Phantom of the Opera” and others. Sexual references and bawdy language are not ideal for children but older teens will appreciate the jokes.

One more thing: Lots of high-energy dancing, tap-dancing and choreography from the age-diverse cast keep the spectacle roaring ahead. Those with solo roles have good voices and although the musical numbers aren’t exactly Rodgers and Hammerstein or Sondheim, they still entertain. There’s no brainwork or introspection here – only fun!

If you go: 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 11 at the Academy Playhouse, 120 Main St., Orleans; $35; $11 for under age 16; 508-255-1963 or info@academyplayhouse.org; https://www.academyplayhouse.org/.

‘From the Heart of the Wreck'

By Jay Pateakos

Written by: Kirsten Peacock and Nick Nudler; presented by Cape Rep Theatre

What it’s about: This world-premiere play follows three storytellers enacting — through humor and swashbuckling escapades — the journey of the famous pirate Samuel Bellamy and his mysterious love, known as the Witch of Wellfleet, and the events leading to the wreck of his ship Whydah off the coast of Cape Cod.

See it or not? See it. This is a 65-minute show filled with a ton of humor, some great history and superior acting.

Highlight of the show: Nudler as Bellamy and Peacock as Goody Hallett, considered in local folklore as the “Witch of Wellfleet,” are phenomenal in their truly haunting roles.

Fun fact: Peacock and Nudler, who had previously acted and written short pieces for Cape Rep, created and wrote the show with the rest of the cast’s help after Cape Rep leaders suggested the Bellamy-Hallett romance as a possibility for storytelling. It’s rare to see a show’s creators and writers in such pivotal roles, but we are all the better for it.

The story behind the play: New play explores love between a Whydah pirate and Wellfleet 'witch' + 6 more shows at Cape Cod theaters

Worth noting: The supporting performances by Cape Rep favorite Ari Lew and Cape Rep newcomers BT Hayes and Coleman Churchill were beyond a treat. I was not expecting to laugh this hard at a pirate story.

One more thing: Pay attention to the acting, especially that of Peacock, whose stellar performance made you believe she was the “Witch of Wellfleet,” whose actions didn't fit in with the Puritan rules of the time.

If you go: 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 10 at Cape Rep Theatre, 3299 Route 6A, Brewster; https://caperep.org/

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod theater reviews: 'The Fantasticks' is true to name, 4 more