This year’s spring show at LSHS wowed the school with a rendition of the longest-running musical in history, The Fantasticks. The musical was held at Calvary Chapel, due to construction at the high school, preventing the show from being held in the school Performing Arts Center. Mindy Marks directed the play, alongside Cami Coleman as assistant director and senior Gabriela Soto as student assistant director. The cast consisted of only eight actors, with accompaniment from Lynn Van der Put on piano.

The Fantasticks is a musical about a young man (Matt) and a beautiful girl (Luisa) who fall in love, despite their parents’ wishes… or so they think. Secretly, the parents (Hucklebee and Bellomy) have devised a plan to make their children fall in love so they can all be one happy family. The parents hire a bandit (El Gallo) to stage a fake fight between him and Matt. To really top off the act, El Gallo hires a few eccentric actors, Mortimer and Henry.) The fight helps Matt and Luisa fall in love and end the fake feud. To avoid spoilers,  find out what happened by watching a live filming of the show on Youtube.

Senior Shannon Lavelle, who played Luisa in the show, did a wonderful job of expressing the vain and self-absorbed side of this once ugly, now beautiful girl hopelessly in love with the boy next door. Her vibrato in every song was extremely impressive, and strengthened the songs altogether. Lavelle brought the personality and chaoticness necessary to every scene she was in.

Senior Luke Joss (Matt) helped bring together the more serious themes throughout the show, with a great amount of emotion in his face and words. He never failed to help viewers understand exactly how his character was feeling in each moment.

Hucklebee, played by sophomore Allisan Marcacci, was a happy-go-lucky mother with a very fantasized view of the world and the people in it. Her optimism could not have shined through as much as it did without Marcacci playing the role.

Bellomy was the brutally-honest character of the show. Senior Emily Grieser truly brought Bellomy’s snarkiness to life in the moments it was most needed and in perfect doses.

Sophomore Ryan Van der Put played the narrator, El Gallo. Van der Put is a highly talented actor who stole the show with his singing. El Gallo’s character is one of charm and wit, which Van der Put perfectly depicted throughout the entire show. The audience is supposed to despise El Gallo due to his cruel and seemingly heartless behavior, but in the end, viewers got to see a side of him that makes him seem more human. Ryan Van der Put resembles El Gallo’s spirit and qualities in ways that no other actor could possibly portray.

Senior Joshua Day (Henry) and his right-hand gal senior Julia Pinheiro (Mortimer) truly carried the show. Their comic relief was absolutely necessary to lighten the mood of the more serious parts in the musical. Pinheiro’s over-the-top accent and dramatic death scenes left the audience bursting with laughter. This was Day’s first show he took part in, and yet he seemed like a pro. Last, but most certainly not least, is the Mute (or the wall), played by senior Jessica Maldonado. Though this character had no lines, it was one of the most essential characters of the musical. Maldonado’s facial expressions and attitude completely set the scene and the mood. Every single actor did an exceptional job of portraying their characters, and with such a small cast of eight people, it is truly remarkable how they found the true nature of each character.

The characters of The Fantasticks are essential to the show, but it would not be the same without the design aspect of it all. The costumes for Hucklebee and Bellomy were perfect for the fact that they like to garden with their overall outfits, but as for Luisa, her attire of plaid leggings and cropped white top seemed too modern for this musical set in the 1940’s. And though Mortimer’s makeup was great, her costume was somewhat tacky and cheap and didn’t help bring the character to life. Overall, hair and makeup did an effective job of portraying their characters, especially El Gallo’s overly dark eyes and messy hair. The sound and lighting throughout the entirety of the musical was simplistic and helped keep the attention on the characters who were speaking or singing. The entire set consisted of a black stage, with two chests on either sides of those stages. This helped carry the consistent simplicity of the show.

Lake Stevens High School’s rendition of The Fantasticks was one not to be missed. I loved every aspect of the musical. The singing, the acting, the accompaniment carried the show to its excellence. It deserved every standing ovation given on every night, and then some. I recommend watching the show on Youtube, though it truly comes to life seeing it live. I was blown away by the talent of every actor and actress. Mrs. Marks chose each actor with intention, and she chose well. The Fantasticks, in all its glory, was a masterpiece. It should also be mentioned that The Fantasticks has been nominated for many 5th Avenue Awards: outstanding performance by an actress in a leading role given to Shannon Lavelle, outstanding performance by an actor in a leading role given to Ryan van der Put, outstanding performance by an actor or actress in a non-singing role given to Joshua Day and Julia Pinheiro, outstanding performance by an ensemble cast given to the entire cast, and honorary mentions to Mrs. Cole and Gabriela Soto for their roles as assistant director and student assistant director.