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The Fantasticks
The smash hit Broadway blockbuster makes its way to London with two of the New York production’s team members on board, including director Amon Miyamoto and designer Rumi Matsui.
It is a show that is certain to win as many admirers in the West End as it did on the other side of the Atlantic, where it has been enjoying a major revival since June 2008.
First seen in 1960, “The Fantasticks” is the record holder for longest running musical in the world, playing in an off-Broadway venue from its start date to 2002, clocking in a monumental 17,162 performances and picking up a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre along the way. It means that it will be right at home in the West End, where it can stand alongside the greats such as “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Misérables”.
“The Fantasticks” is said to be partly based on the Edmond Rostand play “The Romancers” and tells the story of two neighbouring men who think up a way of ensuring their children will fall in love with one another and ultimately get married. Instead of pairing them up, they forbid them from seeing one another, which in turn sows the seeds of a secret forbidden romance.
But these are not stupid children their parents are dealing with and they soon wise up to their fathers’ trickery. Rather than remain at home and continue to be fooled they decide to head out into the world and experience life on their own, absorbing as much as the world has to offer, allowing them to make a fully informed decision on their love without the intervention of their parents.
The show is said to also be inspired by many works of Shakespeare, such as “Romeo & Juliet” the most famous play about forbidden love in the world, as well as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and many others. It makes it a classic story that can easily survive the ages, with musical numbers that elevate it to new heights – “Never Say No”, “This Plum Is Too Ripe”, “Try To Remember”, “Soon It’s Gonna Rain”, “They Were You” and “Round And Round”.
Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s musical has been seen on stages around the world, in professional productions and in high school presentations and it will add the Duchess Theatre in London’s West End to the list in 2010. It appears there from Wednesday 9th June 2010 (previews from Monday 24th May 2010).
