What: The Fantasticks
Where: Snapple Theater Center 3rd Floor
210 West 50th Street
New York, New York
Who: 10 and up
Our view: You may be surprised to learn that The Fantasticks not Phantom of the Opera is the longest running musical in history. In 2013, Phantom of the Opera celebrated it's 25th anniversary and 10,400th performance on Broadway. The original production of The Fantasticks ran for 42 years and 17,162 performances. As far as we are concerned, it should run forever. It is great show. It involves the universal theme of young lovers torn apart by feuding families. However, it is not the same old Romeo and Juliet story that you are used to. Not only is this version of the story more of a comedy than a tragedy, it involves a unique twist to the story in which the families aren't actually feuding at all. They are just pretending to feud so that their children will fall in love. All in all, it is a very entertaining story with great songs that will run through your head long after you've left the theater. The most famous song from the show is Try to Remember but all the songs are great. There is not one clunker in the bunch. It may not be as big a production as shows like Phantom of the Opera or Mamma Mia and the like, but that does not take away from what a wonderful production it is. The fact that the theater is smaller and more intimate only enhances the show. It makes the audience feel much more like a part of the action and much more invested in what they are watching. Children will enjoy the songs and the numerous comedic bits in the show. We would generally recommend it for children 10 and up because younger children will not understand some aspects of the show and very young children may be frightened by some scenes, such as, an attempted abduction and the pantiomiming of a man being beaten.However, children who enjoy fantasy and make believe, can tell the difference between reality and make believe and are not easily frightened may enjoy the show even if they are slightly under 10. I wouldn't recommend it for very young children though. For more information or to order tickets go to thefantasticks.com.
And that's our view. Tune in for tomorrow's Talking Topic post where we will be talking more about The Fantasticks.
