The Fantasticks auditions are tonight (Wednesday October 14, 2009) and Sunday night at 7p.m. at the Florence Little Theater. Scarlett Knight will be directing, and it is sure to be another smash hit. True to my promise, I will be there!
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play “The Romancers” (“Les Romanesques”) by Edmond Rostand [1], concerning two neighboring fathers who put up a wall between their houses to ensure that their children fall in love, because they know children always do what their parents forbid. After the children do fall in love, they discover their fathers’ plot and they each go off and experience things in the world. They return to each other and the love they had, having learned from the world and made an informed decision. Elements of the play are ultimately drawn from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, its story winding its way through Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Rostand’s play.
The show’s original off-Broadway production ran a total of 42 years and 17,162 performances, making it the world’s longest-running musical.[1] It was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1991. The poetic book and breezy, hummable score, including such familiar songs such as “Try to Remember,” helped make this show so durable. Many productions followed, as well as television and film versions. The Fantasticks has also become a staple of regional, community, and high school productions virtually since its premiere. The show is very budget-friendly because of its small cast, two-person orchestra and minimalist set design. Wikipedia
A little sampling from youtube:
