To See or Not to See: The Fantasticks

The Fantasticks is still alive and kicking. This timeless musical has been running in New York City since 1960, with a brief, lamented absence between 2002 and 2006. Still, that’s quite a record, and it’s enough to have given The Fantasticks the title of “world’s longest-running musical”– that’s no small feat. What has contributed to The Fantasticks‘ success? Moreover, is it showing signs of age? I’m happy to report that that which has contributed to its success is also what makes this show as youthful as ever: it’s charming as hell.

Loosely based on the ancient myth Pyramus and Thisbe, The Fantasticks centers on “The Boy” (Matt) and “The Girl” (Luisa), who are next-door neighbors and would-be lovers. The problem? They are separated by a wall that their irascible fathers built as proof of their mutual hatred. Featuring classics like “Try to Remember,” “Metaphor,” and “This Plum Is Too Ripe,” the show, with a twinkle in its eye, explores the innocence and growing pains of love. It is a musical that delights, entertains, and makes you wistful all at once.

Madison Claire Parks and Andrew Polec in The Fantasticks.

Part of the charm comes from the fact that it is presented on an intimate scale. The cast routinely breaks the fourth wall, and the action is neatly packed onto the small stage and into the aisles. If you love shows like Peter and the Starcatcher or The Robber Bridegroom— in other words, imaginative, playful theater that employs time-tested tricks to fresh delight– then you’ll love The Fantasticks. Like a traveling theater troupe, the company pulls everything they need from a trusty trunk, and there’s a good chance you’ll get showered with confetti at some point during the show’s 125-minute running time.

The current cast has a lot of fun, and that fun is contagious– though the audience with whom I experienced the show on a recent Saturday evening was small, they were generous with their laughter. It is to their credit that Madison Claire Parks (Luisa) and Andrew Polec (Matt) give life and complexity to characters that could easily be two-dimensional in the hands of lesser actors. (It also helps that they have lovely voices that perfectly match the sound of the show.) Two more standouts were the hilarious MacIntyre Dixon and Michael Nostrand, who played a pair of befuddled old actors whose antics sent the audience into hysterics– they easily stole every scene they were in.

In a fantastic season when too many shows closed prematurely (Shuffle Along and Bright Star), it’s comforting that The Fantasticks can, like the Little Engine That Could, keep chugging along. I recommend that you, dear Reader, go see The Fantasticks, let a little magic into your life, and help this gem of a show chug on a little bit longer.

Photo Credits: FantasticksOnBroadway.com