The Fantasticks

From Academic Kids

The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical comedy with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It is loosely based on a story called "The Romancers" ("Les Romanesques") by Edmond Rostand.

It premiered in the small New York City off-Broadway theater Sullivan Street Playhouse on May 3, 1960, featuring Jerry Orbach in the role of the narrator. By the time it closed on January 13, 2002, there had been 17,162 performances. It is the world's longest-running musical, and the longest-running show of any kind in the United States.

The musical takes place in a suburban town. A boy (Matt Hucklebee) and a girl (Luisa Bellamy) who live next door to each other fall in love, but their romance must be kept secret from their feuding fathers. Later, it is revealed that the "feud" was manufactured by their fathers as a way to bring the two together by making them believe that their love was "forbidden fruit".

Seeking to end the charade, the fathers hire the services of a roving actor and rogue (El Gallo, who is also the play's narrator) to stage a phony "abduction" of Luisa so that Matt can "rescue" her and win the approval of Luisa's father. The plan succeeds, and the two families are united. However, with their love no longer "forbidden fruit", Matt and Luisa begin to grow restless, and the fathers begin feuding for real. Matt leaves to find out what lies "Beyond that Road" while Luisa allows herself to be seduced by El Gallo. Both Matt and Luisa having been burned by their respective experiences, they rediscover their love for each other.

In addition to being the longest running theatrical show in U.S. history, "The Fantasticks" has become a staple of regional, community, and high school productions virually since its premiere in 1960. This may be due to its budget-freindly minimalist set design, as well as public familiarity with its most recognized song, "Try to Remember". However, a big-screen version of "The Fantasticks" failed to generate significant interest despite boasting an impressive roster of film talent that included Joel Grey, Joe McIntyre, Jean Luisa Kelly, and director Michael Ritchie.

Despite its success, "The Fantasticks" is somewhat marred by a plot element (and accompanying song) that most theatregoers find completely inappropriate in a musical of this nature: Rape. When, the narrator, El Gallo, offers to stage a phony kidnapping of Luisa, he describes the kidnapping as a "rape". After the fathers express incredulity, El Gallo hastily explains that what he is referring to is not forcible sexual intercourse, but rather, an "abduction". He prefers to use the term "rape", which he explains is derived from the latin "rapere" meaning "to carry away", because the term "rape" is "shorter, and more businesslike". He then breaks into a song entitled "It Depends On What You Pay", in which he explains to the fathers about the various types of "rape" that he can stage, but that "the sort of rape depends on what you pay." While the song is clever and intended to be a show-stopper, the song has the effect of leaving many in the audience shocked and somewhat offended to have listened to a musical number extolling the virtues of "rape", notwithstanding El Gallo's explanation as to what he really means by the term "rape". The level of discomfort fostered by the song apparently was not lost on "Fantasticks" creators Jones and Schmidt, who later re-wrote the song to omit references to "rape", and re-titled it "Abduction". The replacement song is arguably not as clever as the original, nor is it musically as compelling, but it does allow producers of the musical to avoid the controversy raised by the original.

External link

The Fantasticks Official Website (http://www.thefantasticks.com/)