In early 2020, the future looked rosy for Coral Springs couple Caryl and Roy Fantel.
One night, Roy was playing drums in the orchestra for the world premiere production of the musical “A Wonderful World” at Miami New Drama, a professional, nonprofit theater company in Miami Beach. Roy helped create the drum score for the musical biography about jazz legend Louis Armstrong.
While Roy worked on “A Wonderful World,” Caryl was music directing a production of Stephen Sondheim’s classic “A Little Night Music” by Zoetic Stage, a nonprofit, professional company in downtown Miami.
Caryl and Roy, a nationally respected couple who have been married almost 26 years, own and operate Coral Springs-based Fantel Music (www.fantelmusic.com). The couple, between them, boast more than 60 years of professional expertise in the performing arts. And the couple had already booked most of the rest of 2020 with gigs. Life was good.
Then, almost overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Folks who had booked the Fantels for jobs canceled the engagements. In fact, Caryl could not even retrieve her belongings from the Arsht Center, where “A Little Night Music” was to open. The Arsht shut down, as did the musical. Meanwhile, in Miami Beach, Miami New Drama postponed “A Wonderful World” indefinitely.
In the bleakness that followed, email message after email message reached the couple’s inboxes, confirming closures and cancellations.
For the first time in decades, the Fantels found themselves jobless. Fortunately, they are versatile and adaptable.
Caryl is a music director, event producer, pianist, teacher, editor, and arts activist. Meanwhile, Roy is a drummer, percussionist, teacher, video-audio producer, and web designer. With all the skills between them, they were able to adapt to the new normal by finding virtual work.
Their first COVID-era job was producing the Carbonell Awards, which recognizes excellence in South Florida live theater. Caryl has been part of the award show’s production team for 12 years. But this year, the awards ceremony looked different. Caryl, herself a Carbonell Award winner, decided — along with the organization — to prerecord the 2020 awards ceremony and present it virtually in August 2020. The Carbonells turned out to be one of several projects the Fantels worked on, during which they helped schools and other performers put on shows virtually.
“COVID has been extraordinarily challenging for everyone in the entertainment industry, but it has given us the opportunity to demonstrate our flexibility,” Caryl said. “Roy’s extensive technical background and abilities, and our wide experience working with groups of all sizes, ages, and levels, has enabled us to pivot into creating work that isn’t necessarily live performance, but is still art and entertainment.”
For instance, the couple worked with drama students at Coral Glades High School to virtually perform the Off-Broadway musical hit “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” Among other things, Roy figured out via green-screen technology how to make four actors appear as though they were together.
The Fantels also used green-screen technology to virtually produce “Signs of Life.” The Yiddishkayt Initiative presented the musical drama as part of a Holocaust Remembrance Day program. Roy said because the production was virtual, people from all over the world were able to watch it on Facebook and YouTube.
Joan Limon, the producer of “Signs of Life,” praised the Fantels. “If there is an equivalent of a Tony Award for best musical direction and videography of a virtual musical drama, it definitely belongs on [their] mantel,” she said.
In addition to the Carbonell Awards, “Signs of Life,” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” the couple’s projects during the past year included the following:
- “Stars of David in Concert,” produced by Avi Hoffman’s Yiddishkayt Initiative. The group is a not-for-profit organization that celebrates and promotes Jewish history, life, and culture.
- Two readings of new musicals that combined recorded and live elements, including one at Florida Atlantic University.
- A couple of holiday concerts presented as part of the Yiddishkayt Initiative’s international Hanukkah and Purim festivals.
- A musical theater production for Nova Southeastern University.
- A production of “Almost, Maine” for an area high school.
“As long as there’s a need, we will continue to produce virtually,” Caryl said. “To some degree, we believe virtual productions are here to stay, as they provide unlimited audience reach.”
However, “we’re both looking forward to performing in front of live audiences again,” Caryl said. “We are cautiously optimistic that audiences will return to theaters live and in-person in pre-pandemic numbers (or even beyond those numbers). We have heard that people are starved for live entertainment. We’re hoping they will be willing to prioritize attending live events, since people haven’t spent much, if anything, on arts events in more than a year … and artists and arts organizations need support now more than ever.”