There was something about the song that stuck in Chalene Scott’s head all these years.
When she heard a classmate sing Much More in high school — one of 14 tunes in the off-Broadway musical hit The Fantasticks — the melody and lyrics grabbed her. “I really liked the style of it,” Scott said, “and it stayed with me for a long time.”
A couple of years ago, Scott pitched the musical to the Coquitlam-based Stage 43 Theatrical Society but it passed as it was gearing up for its Canada 150 season.
However, last year, it got on board and recruited Scott to direct to show as part of its Sit, Sing and Swing! season for 2017-’18 (which started last October with A Bench in the Sun and ends in May with The Ladies Foursome, at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre).
Written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, The Fantasticks is the second musical for the company, opening on Thursday and running until Jan. 20.
It’s also the second time Scott has been asked to lead a musical for Stage 43, having taken the reins to the 2015 production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!
The 1960 show is like no other musical that modern audiences have seen, Scott said. “It’s based largely on the beat poets of the 1950s and 60s,” she said. “There’s lots of poetry that you don’t realize and it flows so well. The music also really captures the imagination.”
As it was penned nearly six decades ago, Scott and her team changed some of the musical’s language that, for today’s crowd, would be deemed politically incorrect. For example, they replaced “Indians” with “cowboys,” and removed any reference to the word “rape” (which, back then, could also mean abduction or kidnapping).
Still, the story remains intact, Scott said.
Loosely based on the play The Romancers as well as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks — the world’s second longest-running musical — follows two dads who trick their children (Luisa and Matt) to fall in love by pretending to feud.
For the Stage 43 production, Luisa is portrayed by Katherine Matlashewski while Matt is Liam Russell. Rounding out the cast are: Carlos Vela-Martinez as El Gallo, Angela Bell as Huckleberry, Reginald Pillay as Bellomy, Derek Barnett as Mortimer, Allan Webner as Henry and Wynn Siu as the Mute.
Scott said audience members will be able to relate to at least one side, given where they are in their own life. Parents can identify with the fathers while younger generations will be able to see the kids’ point of view. “There’s something for everyone because it’s a cast of colourful characters,” said Scott, who is also directing the musical Camelot in June for the Deep Cove Stage Society.
Meanwhile, partial proceeds from ticket sales of The Fantasticks will be donated to the Port Coquitlam Heritage and Cultural Society.
• Call the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam) at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca. The Jan. 17 performance has a special 2-for-1 pricing for single, adult tickets (use the coupon code SING online at stage43.org or at the box office).
