| The Fantasticks | |
 | |
| Original Off-Broadway cast album cover | |
|---|---|
| Music | Harvey Schmidt |
| Lyrics | Tom Jones |
| Book | Tom Jones |
| Based upon | Les Romanesques by Edmond Rostand |
| Productions | 1960 Off-Broadway 2007 Off-Broadway revival |
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. Harvey Lester Schmidt (born September 12, 1929 in Dallas Texas, U Tom Jones (born in 1928 in Littlefield Texas) is a lyricist (and often librettist of Musical theatre. Tom Jones (born in 1928 in Littlefield Texas) is a lyricist (and often librettist of Musical theatre. Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand ( April 1, 1868 &ndash December 2, 1918) was a French Poet and Dramatist. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. A revival is a restaging of a former hit play at a later date Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Harvey Lester Schmidt (born September 12, 1929 in Dallas Texas, U Tom Jones (born in 1928 in Littlefield Texas) is a lyricist (and often librettist of Musical theatre. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" ("Les Romanesques") by Edmond Rostand [1], concerning two fathers who put up a wall between their houses to ensure that their children fall in love, because they know that children always do what their parents forbid. An allegory (from αλλος allos "other" and el αγορευειν agoreuein "to speak in public" is a figurative mode of representation Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand ( April 1, 1868 &ndash December 2, 1918) was a French Poet and Dramatist. 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 wending 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. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from L'elisir d'amore ( The Elixir of Love) is a Melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand ( April 1, 1868 &ndash December 2, 1918) was a French Poet and Dramatist.
The show's original production off-Broadway ran for 17,162 performances, becoming the world's longest-running musical, for 42 years. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. The poetic book and breezy, hummable score, including such familiar songs such as "Try to Remember," helped make this show so durable. Try to Remember is a song from the Musical comedy The Fantasticks. 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, despite a deceptively simple plot line and several politically incorrect themes discussed below under "Controversy". Political correctness (adjectivally politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term applied to Language, ideas policies or behavior It is one of the few musicals to have been made available to other theaters before its original production closed. The show is very budget-friendly because of its small cast, two-person orchestra and minimalist set design.
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Productions
The play's first iteration was as "Joy Comes to Deadhorse" at the University of New Mexico in 1956. The University of New Mexico ( UNM) is a Public University in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After substantial rewriting, it appeared on a bill of new one-act plays at Barnard College for one week in August 1959. Barnard College is a women's liberal arts college founded in 1889
The Fantasticks premiered at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, a small off-Broadway theater, on May 3, 1960, with Jerry Orbach as El Gallo, Rita Gardner as Luisa, and Kenneth Nelson as Matt, among the cast members. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jerome Bernard Orbach ( October 20 1935 – December 28 2004) was an American Tony Award -winning Actor, Gardner made her stage debut as Luisa in the original cast of The Fantasticks in 1960 Kenneth Nelson ( March 24, 1930 – October 7, 1993) was an American Actor. The sparse set and semicircular stage created an intimate and immediate effect. The play is highly stylized and combines old-fashioned showmanship, classic musical theatre, commedia dell'arte and Noh theatrical traditions. Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Commedia dell'Arte ( Italian: "the comedy of artists" is a form of Improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century or is a major form of classic Japanese musical Drama that has been performed since the 14th century
The original off-Broadway production was produced on a very low budget. The producers spent $900 on the set and $541 on costumes at a time when major Broadway shows would spend $1-2 million on sets, props, and costumes. The original set designer, costumer, prop master, and lighting designer was Ed Wittstein, who performed all four jobs for a total of only $480 plus $24. 48 a week. The set was similar to that for "Our Town"; Wittstein designed a raised stationary platform anchored by six poles. Our Town is a three act play by Thornton Wilder which is perhaps the most frequently produced play by an American playwright It resembled a traveling players' wagon, like a pageant wagon. As for a curtain, he hung different small false curtains across the platform at various times during the play. He also made a sun/moon out of cardboard. One side was painted bright yellow (the sun) and the other was black with a crescent of white (the moon). The sun/moon was hung from a nail in one of the poles and is referred to in the libretto. A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and The orchestra consists of a piano and sometimes a harp.
The original off-Broadway production closed on January 13, 2002 after a record-shattering 17,162 performances. Events 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople. 888 - Odo Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. It is the world's longest-running musical, and the longest-running, uninterrupted show of any kind in the United States [2]. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Notable actors who appeared in the off-Broadway production throughout its long run included F. Murray Abraham, Keith Charles, Kristin Chenoweth, Bert Convy, Eileen Fulton, Lore Noto (the long-time producer), Dick Latessa, and Martin Vidnovic. Fahrid Murray Al-Ahmad Abraham ( Arabic: ﻱﻴﺵ ﺞﺜﺙ ﻙﻘﭪ ﭐﭖﺏ (born October 24 1939) is an Academy Award -winning American Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968) is an American Singer and Musical theatre, Film and Television Actress Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy ( July 23, 1933 &ndash July 15, 1991) was an American Game show host and panelist Eileen Fulton (born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty on September 13 1933 in Asheville North Carolina) is an American actress Dick Latessa (born 1930 is an American Actor. Latessa was born in Cleveland Ohio. Martin Vidnovic (born January 4 1948) is an American Actor and Singer.
The Fantasticks has played in every state, in more than 11,103 U. S. productions in over 2,000 cities and towns. It has played at the White House, Ford's Theatre, the Shawnee Mission in Kansas, Yellowstone National Park and in America's more exotic locales from Carefree, Arizona to Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Carefree is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Mouth of Wilson is an unincorporated community in Grayson County in the U Internationally, more than 700 productions have been staged in 67 nations from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. These include Canada (200+), Germany and Australia (approx. 50 each). Scandinavia has seen more than 45 productions including at least one each year since 1962, when it won an award there as the year's Outstanding New Theatrical Piece. Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Czechoslovakia, have all seen multiple productions as have such newsworthy locales as Kabul, Afghanistan and Tehran, Iran. Recently, The Fantasticks has also been seen in Dublin, Milan, Budapest, Zimbabwe, Bangkok, and Beijing.
It has been translated into many languages including Pashto, Dari, French, German, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Czech, Slovak, Persian, Irish, Italian, Magyar, Thai, and Mandarin.
Television, film and recent revival
The show was broadcast by the Hallmark Hall of Fame on October 18, 1964. Hallmark Hall of Fame is a long-running irregularly scheduled anthology program on American Television. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The cast included John Davidson, Stanley Holloway, Bert Lahr, Ricardo Montalban, and Susan Watson, who had appeared in the original Barnard College production. John Hamilton Davidson Sr (born December 13, 1941) is an American Singer, Actor and Game show host known for hosting Stanley Augustus Holloway ( October 1, 1890 - January 30, 1982) was an English actor and entertainer famous for his comic and character Bert Lahr ( August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967) was a German-Jewish American Tony Award -winning comic actor and vaudeville comedian Ricardo Gonzálo Pedro Montalbán Merino KCSG (born November 25, 1920) is a Mexican Television, Theatre, and Film Susan Watson (born December 17, 1938) is an American actress and Singer.
A feature film directed by Michael Ritchie was completed in 1995 but not released until 2000. Michael Ritchie may be Michael Ritchie (film director, film director Michael Ritchie (artistic director, artistic director of Center The Fantasticks is a 2000 American Musical film directed by Michael Ritchie. It starred Joel Grey, Barnard Hughes, Joe McIntyre, and Jean Louisa Kelly. Joel Grey (born April 11, 1932) is a Tony - Golden Globe - BAFTA - & Academy Award -winning American stage Bernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes ( July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006) was an American Actor of theater Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (aka Joe McIntyre or Joey McIntyre, born December 31, 1972 in Needham Massachusetts) is an American Jean Louisa Kelly (born March 9 1972) is an American actress and singer
On August 23, 2006, a revival of The Fantasticks opened at the off-Broadway Snapple Theater Center on 50th Street in New York City. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Snapple Theatre Center is a two-theatre Off Broadway complex at the corner of 50th Street and Broadway in the Times Square neighborhood The following New York City Subway stations are named for 50th Street (Manhattan: 50th Street (IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line 50th The City of New York [3] The revival initially starred Santino Fontana as Matt. Santino Fontana is an American Actor, best known for his role as Hamlet in the Guthrie Theater 's closing play in the spring of 2006 It was directed by lyricist Jones, who also appeared in the role of The Old Actor under the stage name Thomas Bruce. A cast recording of this production was released by Ghostlight Records. Anthony Fedorov, American Idol finalist from Season 4, assumed the role of Matt from May through July 2007. Anthony Fedorov (born Anatoliy Vladimirovich Fedorov on May 4, 1985; Russian: Анатолий Владимирович Фёдоров Ukrainian American Idol, with the full title American Idol The Search for a Superstar for the first season only is an American reality-competition On January 17, 2008, it was announced that after 27 previews and 628 regular preformances, the revival would close on February 24 [1]. During its run its theatre was renamed the Jerry Orbach Theatre in honor of Orbach's appearance as El Gallo in the original production.
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Plot
- Act I
The musical seems to take place in small, unspecified American town (overture). The mysterious El Gallo then sings about love and September (Try to Remember). He then begins to explain the plot of the play. Matt and Luisa live next door, and fall in love. However, their fathers are feuding and order them not to speak. Luisa then stands and sings about the things she wants to do in her life (Much More). Matt then rises and delivers a speech about Luisa and how he is in love with her. He then discovers that Luisa is on the other side of the wall, he proceeds to sing about his love to her in a very exaggerated, superficial way (Metaphor). Matt and Luisa end the song on either side of the wall and speak of Luisa's vision of Matt saving her from kidnapping. Matt's father then appears, and speaks of his life and idea of life. He sees Matt and informs him of his new wife. He then orders Matt inside and follows. Luisa's Father then enters and speaks of his life and what his idea of life is. He then orders Luisa inside. He then calls to Hucklebee, and the audience find out that they are really friends, and pretended to feud so the children would fall in love. They then proceed to sing about how to control children, by saying no (Never Say No). Huck tells Bell of his plan to end the feud, by having Luisa "kidnapped" by a professional and then being saved by Matt. The hired professional, El Gallo(also the narrator, and "Puppet Master" of the show), then appears and sings about what kind of rape (really kidnapping) they want (It Depends on What You Pay), despite the cost, the Fathers agree to a first class rape. After the fathers leave the stage, Henry and Mortimer appear to help with the fake kidnapping. Henry and Mortimer are old actors who are much past their prime, and are frequently confused as to what is going on. Following that, Matt and Luisa walk on stage, and speak and sing of their love, and their dreamed life (Soon its Gonna Rain). After the conclusion of the song, the fake kidnapping occurs (Rape Ballet), Matt easily "defeats" Henry, Mortimer and El Gallo, and the feud is ended with the children and the fathers standing in a tableau (Happy Ending). El Gallo then rises, and comments on the Tableau, and how it will likely fail. He and the Mute exit as the first act ends.
- Act II
The first scene opens with the children and fathers still in a tableau, but it looks as if it is hard to hold much longer. El Gallo then walks on stage and says that what was scenic in the night is cynic in the day. He then changes the moon to the sun, and leaves the fathers and children. The Fathers and Children then begin to complain about what has happened in the relationship, and sing of how the day makes things clearer (This Plum is too Ripe). The children try to "recreate the moonlight" by acting falsely romantic, which drives the fathers insane. Huck then purposely reveals that their kidnapping was a fake, and that the fathers were really friends. Matt and Luisa realize that they were meant to be married while the fathers fight. The fathers then leave, now with a real feud between them. El Gallo then enters, and Matt, in a desperate attempt to regain his honor and Luisa's love, challenges him to a duel. El Gallo disarms Matt easily and then leaves the stage. Matt and Luisa then argue fiercely, saying what they really think of each other. El Gallo then re-enters and tells the audience that Matt must leave to experience the world. Matt then sings with El Gallo about his vision of the world, while El Gallo sings of what it really is to the audience (I Can See It). Henry and Mortimer then appear and lead Matt off into the real world. A month then passes away, and the Fathers have rebuilt the wall. They proceed to resolve the conflict and speak of their children; Luisa is like a statue and does nothing but sit around; Matt still hasn't returned. They then sing about the risks of children (Plant a Radish). After they exit, Luisa sings a short reprise of "Much More" and discovers that El Gallo is watching. She then asks him to take her to the world, and run away with her. She believes that it is romantic, and he agrees to and they then sing of their future life, while Matt is being beaten by Henry and Mortimer in the Background, which is a metaphor for the world hurting him. This entire sequence has a severely dark underscore to it, and is called "Round and Round". After the conclusion of the song, El Gallo tells Luisa to go pack her things, but asks for her treasured necklace, a relic of her dead mother, as a promise that she will come. Matt begins to appear singing a reprise of "I Can See It" except while El Gallo tells Luisa of the worlds grandness, he sings about what the world is really like to the audience. After Luisa leaves to go pack her things, El Gallo begins to leave, Matt makes a pitiful attempt to stop him from leaving and hurting Luisa, but El Gallo easily overpowers him, and knocks him unconscious. Luisa then returns to the stage and realizes that El Gallo has left her, and sits down in tears. El Gallo then appears behind the central action, and recites a poem about how he had to hurt Matt and Luisa to make them realize what love is, and how he hurt himself in the process. Matt then rises and tries to comfort Luisa, and he tells her what the world is really like, and the two realize that everything they wanted was each other (They were You). Matt and Luisa then sing a reprise of Metaphor, with a deeper understanding of life. The Fathers then return and are about to tear down the wall, when El Gallo reminds them that the Wall must stay, and then he sings a reprise of "Try to Remember"
Characters
- El Gallo (the Narrator/Bandit - baritone)
- Matt (the Boy - tenor/baritone)
- Luisa (the Girl - soprano)
- Hucklebee (the Boy's father - baritone)
- Bellomy (the Girl's father - tenor/baritone)
- Henry (The Old Actor - non-singing)
- Mortimer (the man who dies - an actor, pretending to be an American Indian - non-singing)
- The Mute (who at times acts the part of the Wall - non-singing, non-speaking)
Musical numbers
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Controversy
Although the musical was a success, The Fantasticks' book became somewhat controversial due to its use of the word "rape. This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. Try to Remember is a song from the Musical comedy The Fantasticks. Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person " When El Gallo offers to stage the phony kidnapping of Luisa, he refers to the proposed event as a "rape" -- although he makes it clear that he uses the word only in its traditional literary sense (Latin "rapere") of "abduction", explaining that many classical works, including Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock, use the word in this sense. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744 is generally regarded as the greatest English Poet of the eighteenth century best known for his Satirical The Rape of the Lock is a Mock-heroic Narrative poem written by Alexander Pope, first published anonymously in Lintot's Miscellany In his song "It Depends on What You Pay" he describes different kidnapping scenarios -- some comic or outlandish -- that he classifies as the "Venetian rape", the "Gothic rape", the "Drunken rape", etc. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. However, as the public issues of rape and sexual assault became more of a delicate subject during the play's long run, some people in the audience became offended or puzzled by the use of the word. Sexual assault is any Assault of a sexual nature on another person
To deal with changing audience perceptions, the book was edited to reduce the number of usages of the word "rape" and to replace them with other words, usually "abduction". In addition, the authors wrote an optional replacement piece called "Abductions", which uses the music of the overture of the show (although this song did not replace "It Depends on What You Pay" at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, where, with the edits made in the book, audiences did not seem to have much difficulty in accepting the song). It is generally agreed that this song is not as inspired as the original, but it does allow producers of the musical a way to avoid the controversy raised by the original song. In order to conserve the quality of the original song "It Depends on What You Pay", some directors choose to simply substitute the word "raid" for "rape", evoking the "Indian raid" which El Gallo stages.
Another potential source of controversy is the character Mortimer's comic portrayal of an old-fashioned Hollywood-style American Indian, which has some racist connotations.
References
- "The Fantastick Career of Jones & Schmidt" by Robert Viagas, SHOWmusic, Fall 1996, pages 12-18, 69-70
- MTI site for The Fantasticks
- Official website of the original production of The Fantasticks
- Official website of the 2006 off-Broadway revival of The Fantasticks
External links
- Lortel Archives listing
- YouTube - Jerry Orbach sings "Try To Remember" from The Fantasticks at The White House in 1988. See also Executive Office of the President of the United States The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the Official residence Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar)
- Official Myspace page for The Fantasticks Off-Broadway revival
- [http://www.fantasticks.nl Web-site of the Dutch (Netherlands) 2008 version of the Fantasticks
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