Including a superlative in the title of an entertainment production can be a dangerous thing.

Think about it - if the work is bad, the jokes for critics and the public alike are endless, and the damage they cause can be irreparable. "Superstar doesn't shine." "As Good as it Gets isn't." These are just a couple of examples.

This was the situation the Ohio University School of Theater production was in when they opened the season with The Fantasticks. Fortunately, the jokes were kept to a minimum as the play lives up to its name - almost.

The Fantasticks is a musical comedy that tells the story of Matt (Jesse Teeters) and Luisa (Mary M. Kickel), two young people experiencing the thrill of first love.

She is young and somewhat self-centered. "I am special. I am special! Please God, don't let me be normal!," she pleads. He is very rational and has to have a reason for everything. "I'm grown up, stable, willing to conform - but despite my knowledge, there is this girl," he laments.

There are the inevitable complications from their mothers and the realization of the difficulty of a relationship after the initial feeling fades. While the plot may not be Blair-Witch original, it is not a problem. It is not the plot that carries the play; it is the actors.

Kickel shines as the young, naïve, somewhat self-centered Luisa and Teeters gives Matt the all-American charm and sensitivity that bring his role to life. They are a little like Romeo and Juliet, but on a much less intense scale.

The couple forms the heart of the story, but most of the comedy comes from the other players. The jokes are not of the laugh-out-loud-until-it-hurts-kind, but they do come consistently and effectively.

Shawn Williams (looking like a young Danny Glover), almost steals the show as Henry, a performer hired to add theatrics to Matt and Luisa's relationship. Chris Mayse, who plays El Gallo, performs in and narrates the play. His ability to include the audience as an actual character is especially potent.

Even the set, very simple and minimalistic in nature, helps enhance the feeling and directs attention to the actors.

All of the elements for a phenomenal play are in place: the acting, the script, the set, everything. The problem is the pacing of the play. While the first act sets up the premise of the play, it does so at a snails pace. The audience knows it is an old-fashioned love story. Sample dialogue from the beginning of the play: "Try to remember when life was so tender that love was an ember about to bellow." And when we see Luisa's mom, Bellomy, watering her garden and then hear Matt's mom, Hucklebee, complain there is "too much moisture," we know they are exact opposites.

Yet the act plods along, hammering home the same points and draining the energy and enthusiasm from the play. But there is a recovery. The second act is fast-paced and vibrant, as if during the intermission an IV was dropped into the theater, bringing life back to the play. If some of the energy from the second act could be found in the first act, The Fantasticks would truly be fantastic.

The Fantasticks runs this Sunday and from Oct. 27 to 30 at the Forum Theater.