The Nebraska Theatre Caravan was founded by Charles Jones in 1976 as the professional touring wing of

the Omaha Playhouse, one of the nation’s largest community theatres. What began as an outreach

project to bring theatre to the rural areas of its home state, soon evolved into a touring company of

national prominence, known for its strong production values and technical expertise. To date, Nebraska

Theatre Caravan has produced over 90 fully mounted plays and musicals, including original and new

works, and has performed in 160 Nebraska communities and in over 600 cities around the United States,

Canada and Russia.

Nebraska Theatre Caravan has been widely-known and praised for its annual national touring

productions of the Charles Jones musical adaptation of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, featuring a cast of

25 individuals, live orchestra and Broadway-style scenery and costumes.

These performances, among others, have captivated audience members nationwide with vibrant family

friendly and innovative entertainment for over three decades. The high caliber of Caravan show is due

to a strong commitment to professionalism, as well as a dedication to a high artistic standard. From the

exciting strains of a musical’s overture to the most poignant moment of a moving drama, Nebraska

Theatre Caravan fully realizes each aspect of every performance.

“CAPA has been presenting the shows for 25 years…every year, the demand for the show increases”

-Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, Columbus, OH

“Rare is a production that makes you feel you’re seeing and hearing a story for the first time…lavish

sets and costumes…Broadway-spectacle designs.”

-Ray Loynd, Los Angeles Times

“A delightful, fanciful production that year after year charms our audiences.”

-Brian McCary, KDHX Radio, St. Louis, MO

The Fantasticks – Plot Summary

The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was

produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" ("Les

Romanesques") by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa

and Matt, into falling in love by pretending to feud and erecting a wall between their houses. The

fathers then hire traveling actors to stage a mock abduction, so that Matt can heroically seem to save

Luisa, settling the supposed feud and securing their fathers' blessings (which the young lovers have

really had all along). When the children discover the deception, they reject the arranged love match and

separate. Each then gains disillusioning experiences of the real world, seen in parallel fantasy sequences.

They return to each other bruised but enlightened, and they renew their vows with a greater sense of

maturity.

Photos of the original off-Broadway Cast, c. 1960

The Fantasticks – Musical Numbers

Act I

Overture

"Try to Remember" – El Gallo, Luisa, Matt, Hucklebee, Bellomy

"Much More" – Luisa

"Metaphor" – Matt, Luisa

"Never Say No" – Hucklebee, Bellomy

"It Depends On What You Pay" – El Gallo, Hucklebee, Bellomy

"Soon It's Gonna Rain" – Matt, Luisa

"Abduction Ballet" – Company

"Happy Ending" – Company

Act II

"This Plum Is Too Ripe" – Matt, Luisa, Hucklebee, Bellomy

"I Can See It" – Matt, El Gallo

"Plant a Radish" – Hucklebee, Bellomy

"'Round and 'Round" – El Gallo, Luisa, Company

"They Were You" – Matt, Luisa

"Try to Remember" (reprise) – El Gallo

The Fantasticks – Cast Breakdown

THE NARRATOR (EL GALLO)

A rakish, handsome, sophisticated gallant and narrator of the show. He is warm, cordial, and inviting to the audience, but has his own darker moments. He aids the performers in orchestrating the story. Male, 30-50 yrs old Range: Ab2 - G4

THE ACTOR (HENRY)

An aging, over-the-top Thespian who specializes in reciting Shakespeare, he is a commedia clown; his world is the stage and he knows no other reality. Male, 50-70 yrs old Speaking Role

THE BOY (MATT)

An innocent, young man who is searching for love and adventure. A bright guy, but naive and even foolish at times, approaching situations with a false bravado. Male, 18-25 yrs old Range: A2 - G4

THE BOY'S FATHER (HUCKLEBEE)

A former boisterous navy man and meticulous gardener who fakes a fight with Bellomy in hopes of getting their children to fall in love. Male, 40-60 yrs old Range: A2 - F#4

THE GIRL'S FATHER (BELLOMY)

A fastidious button-maker and also a picky gardener who fakes a fight with Hucklebee in hopes of getting their children together. Male, 40-60 yrs old Range: A2 - F#4

THE MAN WHO DIES (MORTIMER)

Henry's goofy sidekick and another former actor who specializes in stage deaths. A commedia clown, his world is the stage and he does not live in reality. Male, 30-50 yrs old Speaking Role

THE MUTE A speechless presence who watches, acts as the wall, and deals with props; the "invisible" stage assistant. Should be able to easily assist in the story or fade into the background unnoticed. Male or Female, 20-50 yrs old Pantomime Role

WHAT IS STEAMPUNK?

Steampunk is a genre which came into prominence during the

1980s and early 1990s and incorporates elements of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror, and speculative fiction. It involves a setting where steam power is widely

used—whether in an alternate history such as Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United States, or in a post-

apocalyptic time —that incorporates elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology, or futuristic innovations as

Victorians might have envisioned them, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art.

This technology includes such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the

contemporary authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld and China Mieville.

Other examples of steampunk contain alternative history-style presentations of

such technology as lighter-than-air airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace's Analytical Engine. Steampunk also refers to art, fashion, and design that are informed by the

aesthetics of Steampunk literature.

Selected steampunk works: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The Time Machine Master of the World Captain Nemo and the Underwater City

Wild Wild West The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

The Golden Compass Sherlock Holmes Hugo

THEATER Steampunk takes center stage Published Thursday February 9, 2012 By Bob Fischbach WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

“The Fantasticks," the world's longest-running musical, opened off Broadway in 1960 and didn't close until 2002, after more than 17,000 performances. Tens of millions can hum its signature tune, "Try to Remember."

So, when the Omaha Community Playhouse chose to stage it, starting Friday in the Howard Drew Theatre, its familiarity was a concern.

"We needed a fresh approach, a way of rethinking it," said director Carl Beck. "Then (costume shop supervisor) Paula Clowers walked in and asked, 'Are you familiar with steampunk?'"

Nobody was. Not Beck, not props designer Amy Reiner, not costumer Georgiann Regan or scenic designer Jim Othuse. But after exploring it, they decided it was the perfect way to freshen and modernize "The Fantasticks."

Steampunk began as a literary genre associated with the science fiction of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. It got its name in the 1980s, when punk rock was all the rage. It combines Victorian style with a punk attitude, and it's steeped in the Victorian industrial-revolution machinery powered by steam.

"The Fantasticks" is the story of a girl who falls in love with the boy next door. Their fathers pretend to keep them apart, knowing that will bring them together.

But the path of true love is not smooth. The young, idealistic lovers must experience the dark side of life before they can appreciate each other as they should.

"The simplicity of the romance, the fantasy quality of the story lend themselves to that turn-of-the-century Victorian innocence," Beck said. "Steampunk, the industrial revolution and outside influences fit the sinister side of the story."

Some aspects of the show — scenery, lighting, even staging — needed little adjustment to layer on the steampunk theme. Costumes and props became the primary vehicles.

"It's in the details," Regan said. "Buttons become gears. Decorated top hats and goggles are very steampunk. That's all layered on top of Victorian lace and feathers."

Regan and her costume crew snipped detailing and fabric from vintage clothing, then layered and pieced it into yards of fabric in a process similar to quilting.

Reiner said the brainstorming and collaboration on the show's look and sensibility has been one of her most satisfying artistic experiences at the Playhouse. Steampunk, she said, flows into everything from the floor to furnishings like a trunk or a chair, even to a representation of the sun that hovers over the stage.

"We're casting a lot of things in latex, to keep the weight light, then painting them to look like metal," said costumer Lynne Ridge, who is teaming with Reiner on a surprise reimagining of an abduction scene in which the girl must be rescued.

Clowers' husband, Wes, has been taking apart alarm clocks and other machines and appliances to supply inner gears and workings used to decorate props, costumes and set pieces.

"We call him the deconstructionist," Clowers laughed.

Beck said the key to the production is that the story, beloved for decades, is unaltered by the steampunk concept. While the accent is on the Victorian early on, as the innocents become

exposed to the dark side of life in the big bad world, the steampunk comes on strong.

"The characters are very much the same," Beck said. "But visually, wow."

Contact the writer:

402-444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com

A Fantastick twist By Angel Martin, KVNO News

February 16th, 2012

Omaha, NE – The Omaha Community Playhouse presents a classic musical with a “steampunk” twist.

The Fantasticks are now in Omaha, sharing their story of love on the main stage. One of the longest-running musicals of all time, The Fantasticks first played Off-Broadway in 1960. The story follows two fathers, who try to trick their daughter and son into falling in love, by staging a faux feud and keeping them apart.

The Omaha Community Playhouse has revived the production, with its own twist: a “steampunk” theme. Carl Beck is the artistic director at the Playhouse and he’s also directing the show. He said “steampunk” is a play on Victorian era style, also known as retro-futurism.

It’s takes a turn-of-the-century look or design and “punks it” or gives it a Sci-Fi, fantasy feel,” he said. “It takes the top hat, the goggles, the tailed jackets and that sort of thing and…it gives them a different, sort of edgier look.”

Beck said for this production, the “steampunk” represented a worldly view. He said the theme was embraced by everyone in the production, and the crew created costumes, props, and designed the set to flow with the songs, and acting. He also said they even invented a “steampunk” dragon.

“There’s a battle, an attempted abduction of the girl that’s contrived by the fathers, and generally it’s a very simple sword fight, almost a comical sword fight,” Beck said. “We started with a sword fight, but then we introduced a 12-ft-high dragon that literally breathes confetti fire.”

The Fantasticks is now running through March 18th at the Omaha Community Playhouse in central Omaha.

REVIEW

The Reader > Arts

Box Of Moonlight “The Fantasticks” is an Intimate Hit at the Playhouse

BY DAVID WILLIAMS

“The Fantasticks” seems to be just the sort of musical that I’ve always intended to fall in love with … it’s just that no one has ever given me a reason to do so. All that has changed with the Omaha Community Playhouse production of the poetic parable about young love confronted by the hard knocks of life. Here a top-notch cast and crew fuel a cleverly staged and costumed performance that offers a couple of big surprises.

The first is the choice to dress the proceedings in the trappings of steampunk. Georgiann Regan’s upside-down mash-up of “retro-future” leather, goggles, top hats, Borg-like prosthetic appendages and deconstructed clockwork machinations evoke Victorian sensibilities clashing with an out-of-time, decades-hopping technological palette, the hallmark of steampunk aesthetics.

The other surprise involves one of the more dramatic entrances in recent Playhouse memory (or any other theater, for that matter) when the first act races to its climactic conclusion with the jarring appearance of a behemoth … no, no, not so fast … it wouldn’t be fair to spoil the fun. You’ll have to see for yourself the animatronic bucket of bolts that has leapt from the boundless imaginations and technical prowess of property designers Amy Reiner and Lynn Ridge.

What isn’t a surprise is a cast that delivers, from top to bottom, an octet of amazing performances.

Let’s start with the fact that The Fantasticks’ romantic chemistry couldn’t be more natural. After all, the leading couple is married in real life. Jennifer Tritz is the dreamy-eyed Luisa, the silk-clad beauty with the even silkier soprano. Rick Tritz is the velvety crooner whose clipped, precise speech comes off here not so much as Victorian as it does the sort of lilting, sing-song patter that would have been born if Dr. Seuess had authored this little gem, one that has the power to make “your heart grow three sizes that day.” Together the Tritz’s are pure magic in “Metaphor” and “They Were You.”

They’re the young lovers whose faux feuding fathers (Gordon Krentz and Jonathan Wilhoft) build a literal wall — played by Matthew Uehling, a Greek chorus of one — between the two, knowing full well that the obstacle will only drive their offspring closer together. Krentz and Wilhoft are uproariously hilarious when explaining their mastery of reverse psychology in performing choreographer Roxanne Nielsen’s mischievous little pas de deux in “Never Say No.”

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The incomparable Seth Fox (Billy Flynn from the company’s recent blockbuster production of “Chicago”) hits it out of the park in opening the evening with the work’s signature song, “Try to Remember.” He plays both the narrator and El Gallo, the trickster brought in by the fathers to stage an abduction. El Gallo is aided by his fumbling sidekicks; the senescent Henry, played with whimsical flair by audience favorite Bernie Clark, and the dim-dimmer-dimmest Mortimer, as portrayed by Matt Kelehan in yet another of his trademark “small is big” smallish roles.

The steampunk vibe may at first seem a bit of an incongruent puzzler, but it turns out to not only blend seamlessly with the off-kilter themes of The Fantasticks, but also adds some eye-popping oomph to a musical already known for its slightly surreal foray into a fanciful, almost mythical world.

At the center of it all is a prop that takes on the role of a ninth character, a rustic trunk from which emerges most of the show’s most memorable props — including a box of moonlight that serves to illuminate the hopes and dreams of anyone who has ever fallen under the spell of Cupid’s arrow.

Just in time for Valentines Day, director Carl Beck’s The Fantasticks has this reviewer tempted to buy an extra box of chocolates for the musical that has at long last captured my heart.

The Fantasticks runs through March 18 at the Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. Performances are Thursday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and tickets are $40 for adults, $24 for students. Visit omahaplayhouse.com or call the box office at 402-553-4890 for additional information.

T H E A T E R R E V I E W Published Saturday February 11, 2012 Steampunk rework gives show new edginess By Jane Palmer WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

"The Fantasticks" plays through March 18 at the Playhouse. From left are: Jonathan Wilhoft as Bellomy, Jennifer Tritz as Luisa, Rick Tritz as Matt and Gordon Krentz as Hucklebee.

A steampunk look, beautiful voices and great comedic timing make a new run of the musical "The Fantasticks" at the Omaha Playhouse engaging, fresh and fun.

"The Fantasticks" is the world's longest-running musical — generations of school theater groups and swing choirs have performed it. The show opened on Friday at the Playhouse and continues through March 18.

The basic premise of a small band of players telling a story from a trunk on the stage is still the anchor for the production. The new steampunk treatment — Victorian style and 1980s punk attitude — adds exotic visual interest to the play, a new edginess to darker parts of the classic tale and at least one surprise.

Shreds of vintage fabrics, metal gizmos and odd touches from long-forgotten industrial enterprises appear as props. With the help of lighting, these props draw in the eye and entertain the spirit while a timeless tale of love and life unfolds. A preview audience on Thursday seemed thoroughly impressed and at least one couple joked about wanting to take one of the steampunk props home.

Seth Fox, as the show's narrator El Gallo, beautifully sings the show's signature tune "Try to Remember" and many other numbers in the show. His bold and graceful movements lend credence to the happiness and the mayhem he leaves in his wake.

Jennifer Tritz and Rick Tritz, as the girl and boy who fall in love, are a glorious match as singers and as performers. The duo are married in real life and are thoroughly entertaining as they draw attention to the tenderness and the silliness of young love. Jennifer's well-trained voice enlivens show tunes like "Soon it's Gonna Rain" and "Round and Round." And Rick has a great knack for conveying emotion as he sings. His "I Can See It" is great fun.

Gordon Krentz and Jonathan Wilhoft are a stitch as the fathers of the boy and the girl. Physical comedy, sidewise glances and the timing of their lines are spot-on. And they are enjoyable harmonizers on tunes such as "Plant a Radish."

The remainder of the cast is strong, too. Matthew Uehling as the mute becomes a visual touchstone for the play. Bernie Clark and Matthew Kelehan as bumbling, has-been actors created lots of visual laughs.

Enhancing the stellar music of the show throughout was the piano accompaniment of music director John Bennett.

"The Fantasticks" is playing in the Howard Drew Theatre, the smaller of the two stages at the Playhouse, so seating is close to the action — a plus for seeing the visual comedy. The intimate setting also means fewer seats are available.

Playhouse spokeswoman Katie Wortmann said long-time fans of "The Fantasticks" have already purchased many of the seats. So, if you would like to discover the show for the first time or to see the new steampunk treatment, don't delay.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1052, jane.palmer@owh.com

the STORY

The Reader > Arts

Fantasticks Steam Punked by Warren Francke February 20th, 2012 If the steampunk concept draws you to The Fantasticks at the Omaha Community Playhouse, well and good. It’s interesting and appealing. But it shouldn’t overshadow the more surprising accomplishment of director Carl Beck and his cast. They’ve given us far and away the best treatment of this record-setting 52-year-old musical that I’ve ever seen. And that includes some very good productions, a half dozen of them, going back to the 1960s at the Blackstone Hotel, an earlier Playhouse show, Chanticleer, you name it. Most recently, the University of Nebraska at Omaha gave it some fresh twists but it left me wondering if the long-running creation of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt had lost its charm. Not so. Not at all. It’s always best in an intimate space, so presenting it in the Howard Drew Theatre put the competing gardens right in the laps of the audience. If you’re the only ones left who haven’t sing the little classic, the fathers of the moonstruck boy and girl have conflicting theories of horticulture: one snips and prunes with manic fervor, the other drowns his plants with a deluge of water. Ask me again later and I might mention a different cast favorite. I loved Bernie Clark’s forgetful old actor, always a delightful role, and Matt Kelehan’s Mortimer, “the man who dies.” Matthew Uehling as the Mute gave the most presence to the steampunk industrial cogs and gears, and Gordon Krentz and Jonathon Wilhoft did the fathers proud. It was no surprise that Seth Fox makes a perfect El Gallo, the sly narrator who performs the mock-abduction and sings, “Try to Remember.” But the frosting on the cake of this delicious treat came from the real-life couple playing the girl and boy, Jennifer and Rick Tritz. She wowed us with her vocals and he not only sang well but gave the character just the right wide-eyed view of coming of age. All this enthusiasm requires an apology to the three shows opening this weekend. I’d hoped to say more about Julia Hinson, who’ll play Maggie the Cat, with Colton Niedhardt as Big Daddy and Charleen Willoughby as Big Mama in UNO’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Assuage my guilt by seeing them and checking out One for the Road, the Circle Theatre comedy by Willy Russell, who wrote Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine.