STAGE REVIEWS : ‘THE FANTASTICKS’

“The Fantasticks” is an enigma in the American theater: How could such an innocuous, simplistic, yank-the-heart-strings musical have become the longest-running (since 1960) show in off-Broadway history? The Ana-Modjeska Players’ production does nothing to answer that question.

Director Daniel Halkyard and the Players neglect to freshen up this tired old horse, choosing instead to give it a straightforward, by-the-lines treatment. Mistake. Without an injection of invention or a big dose of self-deprecating fun, “The Fantasticks” is just plain maudlin and uninvolving.

In plot and setting, this show sounds like a corny ‘50s TV sitcom setup: Two middle-class suburban neighbors conspire to arrange a marriage between their children without their knowing about it. They succeed, but the kids find out after the wedding and get cranky. Needless to say, everything turns out fine in the end.

Besides the limited imagination in the staging, there’s also a lack of sharp, affecting performances--in the singing and the acting. As the young husband Matt, Lawrence Hilty has a strong voice but not enough control. As his wife Louisa, Carrie Booker has a pretty soprano but not much range. The rest of the singing is forgettable, as is the acting, which tends to be either stiff and unconvincing or overeager and unconvincing.

“The Fantasticks” plays through Saturday at the Anaheim Cultural Arts Center, 931 N. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. Information: (714) 991-4135.