A Brief History
On May 3, 1960, the Off-Broadway musical production The Fantasticks began it record setting run of 42 years and 17,162 performances in a row, an incredible record as the world’s longest running musical of all time, and the longest continuous run of any production in the US. Film and television versions have been produced, and the musical is a staple of high school productions, to the tune of about 250 new school productions every year. Its modest set requirements and small cast and orchestra make it an easy production to mount.
Digging Deeper
As you would imagine, such a long run and spin-off productions have garnered investors a tidy profit, over 240 times their investment as of 2010. The show had a second Off-Broadway run from 2006 to 2017 and has been performed in 67 countries, including venues as unlikely as Afghanistan and Zimbabwe!
Based on the book Les Romanesques by Edmond Rostand, the story about 2 fathers pretending to feud in order to trick their respective son and daughter into falling in love and marrying was adapted by Tom Jones (not the Welsh singer of “It’s Not Unusual”) for the stage. Jones also wrote the lyrics to the music by Harvey Schmidt, the most memorable song being “Try to Remember” (made a huge hit by Ed Ames and appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 a total of 3 times by various artists). The song was featured in the movie soundtrack to The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and has shown up on television and other movies. Nice versions were also recorded by The Brothers Four, The Kingston Trio, Eddie Fisher, The Sandpipers, Josh Groban and Barry McGuire among others. The original performer in the musical was Jerry Orbach.
The show was not without controversy, as the use of the word “rape” in the dialog and in song lyrics. Some of the other songs featured in the musical are “Rape Ballet” (later changed to “Abduction Ballet”), “Happy Ending,” “This Plum is Too Ripe,” and “Plant a Radish.” With song titles such as these, it is almost amazing the show was a hit!
Question for students (and subscribers): Have you seen any of the live or recorded productions of The Fantasticks? If so, give us your review of the musical and where you rank it among other famous stage musical productions. Do you have a favorite song from the play? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Jones, Tom and Harvey Schmidt. The Fantasticks. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2000.
Viertel, Jack. The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built. Sarah Crichton Books, 2017.