The Fantasticks: two stories

Do you know that the longest running Broadway musical was produced by the Pasadena Playhouse before 2016? 
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​The Pasadena Playhouse at Catalina:  The Fantasticks Summer of 1965.​
By Larry Fazio and Patti La Marr. 

The Pasadena Playhouse at Catalina was a wonderful summer program to promote the Pasadena Playhouse and to entertain the Catalina residents and tourists alike. For the Playhouse students it was time to hone their craft. 

​​​The troupe composed mostly of 2nd year students who were attending the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts. The acting troupe consisted of 14 players plus Playhouse staff directors Dr. Gail Shoup, David Willie, Ellen Bailey, and technical support from the Playhouse Staff.

​There were 4 productions one of which was The Fantasticks.  Larry Fazio remembers that for young fledgling students this was an experience of a lifetime. The cast stayed at the famous Holly Hill House, and the theater was a tent down in the main part of the island. The plays were performed in the round and on Mondays they had the Shoestring Theatre where they performed songs from musicals and showcased their individual talents. Larry, who played the Mute in the Fantasticks, was performing as a mime. His wife Toby Kaye, a singer and all around character-comic, also performed pantomimes.

Members of the troupe Larry Fazio, Toby Kaye, William Mueller, Kenneth Fix, William Reynolds, and Gail Shoup are still live in CA.  Ree Cady and Maryann French have moved. Caroline McWilliams, starred in the sit-com “Benson” and was married to the Actor Michael Keaton.  Some of the other cast members, have moved to parts unknown.
This production of The Fantasticks was directed by Gail Leo Shoup, who wrote an extensive dissertation The Pasadena Community Playhouse: Its Origins and History from 1917 to 1942.

The musical director and pianist, Val-Jean Johns was known for his piano renditions of the television series Ben Casey, scored the Big Cube with Lana Turner and performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra.

Larry Fazio is currently a tour docent at the Playhouse and has just completed the 2nd edition to his book on Stage Managing titled "Stage Manager-The Professional Experience Refreshed”. Larry and Toby Kaye met at the Playhouse and next year will celebrate 50 years of marriage. For six years Toby volunteered in The Playhouse Archives under the tutelage and guidance of Mrs. Ellen Bailey.

Images: Courtesy of the  Pasadena Playhouse Archives. ​

Try to remember when life was so tender
that no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender 
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender 
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember and if you remember, then follow...
                                                                   - Tom Jones

​ The Fantasticks of 1969.
By Valerie Amidon,
the  President of the Pasadena Playhouse Alumni & Associates.

In the spring of 1969, the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts presented a production of The Fantasticks in the Patio Theatre (presently redwhite+bluezz restaurant). The student production was directed by Pete Parkin as part of his Master's degree program. That show received such positive reviews by the theatre critics in Los Angeles and Pasadena publications that the show was a sellout and held over for two additional weeks. That was a highly unusual event for a production performed and directed solely by students.

Flash forward 47 years... The director of the current production of The Fantasticks, Seema Sueko, invited Pete Parkin and his cast and crew of the 1969 production to attend a performance during this run. Seema's invitation has since grown into the 61st meeting and reunion of the Alumni and Associates of the Pasadena College of Theatre Arts, which is scheduled on September 24, 2016. At that time, 60+ former students will once again come together to celebrate their amazing school.

Images: Courtesy of the  Pasadena Playhouse Archives. ​