Steel Beam's 'Fantasticks' hits the right notes

Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins girl.

While musicals have long embraced that formula, few do so with as much candor as “The Fantasticks,” the seminal, off-Broadway show that reminds audiences that real love is never that easy.

And though it may bloom initially in fancy, love endures only when it's rooted in reality.

That bittersweet lesson underscores Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's evergreen tuner, which premiered in 1960 and ran for nearly 42 years, becoming a regional staple in the process.

The latest revival of the commedia dell'arte musical fable comes courtesy of St. Charles' Steel Beam Theatre whose intimate setting perfectly suits this sweet, little show, which always plays better in a small space.

Director Ty Perry tempers the pathos and delivers a pleasant, unfussy production starring Amy Steele and Greg Zawada as the fanciful Luisa and Matt, longtime neighbors and would-be lovers whose fathers erect a wall (played by Ellen Chambers, mistress of confetti), to keep them apart.

Actually, Matt's father Hucklebee (Rob Frankel) and Luisa's father Bellomy (Thom Thomas) have schemed for years to bring their children together, understanding that the best way to advance the budding romance is to appear to oppose it.

To move things along, they enlist help from El Gallo (nicely underplayed by Tony Lage), a mysterious stranger who specializes in the “abduction” of starry-eyed young girls. The fathers arrange for an abduction by moonlight, with El Gallo as the villain, Luisa as the distressed damsel and Matt as the hero who rescues her. Orchestrated by El Gallo with help from fading Shakespearean actor Henry (a touching, funny performance from Stephen Connell) and his colleague, Mortimer (Mike Moylan), it goes according to plan with Luisa and Matt falling into each other's arms as the first act concludes.

But as Jones' lyric goes, what was scenic by moonlight seems cynic in the day. The second act opens under the harsh glare of the sun that burns away illusions. Matt and Luisa's romance starts to wither. Disenchantment — cleverly expressed in the juicy “This Plum is Too Ripe” — sets in. The sniping begins and estrangement follows when the ending turns out to be everything but happy.

One of the real joys of “The Fantasticks” is Jones' thoughtful lyrics and Schmidt's delicious score. Rooted in easy, breezy jazz, the music reveals a Latin influence (the tango-inspired “Never Say No”) and some-timed dissonance. Steel Beam's tuneful trio — led by music director/pianist Tom King Clear, with harpist Jennifer Keller and drummer Pete Steele — delivers the goods.

So does Amy Steele, a winsome performer with a very pretty voice, well-cast as an overly romantic, excessively dramatic girl longing to be “kissed on the eyes” and determined to be anything but normal. Zawada's nicely callow Matt is equally likable and just as self-indulgent.

Their duets are lovely. Especially the wistful “They Were You.” Sung by lovers who've been “burned a bit and burnished by the sun,” it's the most affecting moment of the show thanks to the simple truthfulness of Steele and Zawada's performances.

Also deserving mention is the well-staged whirlwind that is “Round and Round,” in which puppet-master El Gallo introduces Luisa to the world, while blinding her to its truth.

Really, that's what “The Fantasticks” is all about — casting off illusions to reveal the truth about love. Fancy is fleeting. Love tested is love that endures: “Without a hurt, the heart is hollow.”

<b>“The Fantasticks”</b>

★ ★ ★

<b>Location:</b> Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles, (630) 587-8521 or <a href="http://steelbeamtheatre.com" target="_blank">steelbeamtheatre.com</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 9