Fanny

Over the weekend I saw Fanny. It was an Encores production, so the actors had only nine days to rehearse and were allowed to carry scripts on the stage. However, the acting and singing was so strong that I didn’t even notice the actors were carrying scripts until the end of Act ii!

The story is about a young woman who is being pressured to marry by mother, peers, and her crush’s father. The boy she is in love with, Marius (played by the amazing, wonderful, talented James Snyder whom I was a huge fan of two years ago), likes Fanny, but is more interested in sailing and seeing the world. An older man, Panisse (played by Fred Applegate), is also interested in Fanny, but she believes he is far too old for her. When Marius leaves Fanny--but not after he has impregnated her--Fanny marries the old Panisse and the two raise Fanny’s son together.

The plot was sweet, but almost too sweet. Other then Marius sailing away (but then of course coming back), there was no real conflict. Panisse was a sweet man who really cared for Fanny, rather than a greedy villain who treated his young wife poorly. It would have been interesting if Panisse didn’t want to give Fanny up or if had other intentions in marrying her. Still, I enjoyed the story, even with its over-cheerful ending.

The dialogue was extremely old-fashioned at times, and it was obvious the actors felt awkward saying some of their lines. However, most of the audience was an older crowd, so I’m sure they had no problem with this. Allison and I, however, smirked a few times when one of the characters would call another, “you, billy goat!”

As I mentioned before, the actors were amazing. I can’t imagine learning lines, songs, and staging all in nine days! I also liked the music in Fanny. I’m honestly kind of sick of all these “rock musicals” with songs that I could easily hear on the radio. When I see a musical, I want to hear a different style of music. With Fanny, I heard older South Pacific-esque songs, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

After the show, Allison forced me to stay for the forty-five minute long talkback. Let me tell you, after sitting in the same seat for two and a half hours and seeing the same the people on stage, I kind of wanted to get out of the theater right at the curtain call. However, I did enjoy the talkback. It was interesting to hear what the director and music director had to say regarding the production, and I thought it was a real treat to see the original Fanny, Florence Henderson (aka. Mrs. Brady from the Brady Bunch) talk about what it was like starring in Fanny at age nineteen.

I’m glad I attended Fanny. Originally, I only went to see James Snyder perform. However, his performance was only the cherry on top of a delightful and charming show.