Story
What Is the Story of The Fantasticks?
Beloved by theatergoers for 50 years, The Fantasticks is a musical allegory about the romance of a young couple, Matt and Luisa, who find their relationship tested by their meddling fathers and a bandit narrator known as El Gallo. There isn’t much of a plot beyond boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl back—but the charm of The Fantasticks is in its poetic innocence coupled with a now-classic score by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt that includes “Try to Remember” and “Soon it’s Gonna Rain.”
Should I See It?
What Is The Fantasticks Like?
As in the original 1960 off-Broadway production, The Fantasticks is performed on a bare-bones set reminiscent of putting on a show in someone’s backyard. The sun and moon are made from cardboard, and the action takes place on plain wood platforms. Simplicity is part of the show’s appeal, allowing audiences to concentrate on the love story and the comic machinations of the fathers. Now playing in the Jerry Orbach Theatre (renamed in honor of the actor who created the role of El Gallo) the current off-Broadway revival is a wonderful way to revisit (or see for the first time) this beloved musical.
Is A The Fantasticks Good for Kids?
The style of the show is rather old-fashioned (and its allegorical storytelling may be confusing to little ones), but there’s nothing objectionable about The Fantasticks. Tweens will love seeing a professional NYC mounting of a show that they might well perform themselves in a high school production back home.