Capsule reviews of current area theater presentations.

The Fantasticks — Few shows have ever captured the dueling forces of innocent love and a hard-knock life as magically as The Fantasticks, the little musical that kicked box-office butt for 42 years off Broadway. The story of the two hardheaded but wily next-door-neighbor fathers, who, knowing their children will do anything they forbid, erect a wall between their properties to make sure their kids fall in love, is an evergreen delight. And the evocative songs by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, such as "Try to Remember" and "Soon It's Gonna Rain," feel as if they're part of our collective DNA by now. Paul Rawlings and Emma Ruck, as The Boy and The Girl, have both the youth and the pipes to carry their roles. In the signature role of El Gallo, Joe Monaghan hits all the right notes, both singing and acting, but his unamplified voice is a bit soft, even for the cozy confines of this smallish arena space. Director Pierre-Jacques Brault wisely gives George Roth, in the luscious role of The Old Actor, plenty of elbow room, and Roth delivers a small comic gem. Brault gets so many things right — from the elegant use of The Mute (a smooth Jon Gellott) to the focus on the tender love story — one is tempted to overlook his tendency to overblock certain songs and indulge in a few too many pregnant pauses. But for the most part, it's just fantastick. Through March 23, produced by Ensemble Theatre at the Cleveland Play House, 8500 Euclid Ave., 216-321-2930. — Howey