This is the Hallmark Hall of Fame version from 1964! It is very abridged, but a good taste of the show, and has the best cast out of the available options! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvsK_m7nSkI
The Fantasticks is a musical based on the 1894 play, The Romancers by the same author who wrote Cyrano de Bergerac. It is the longest-running musical ever, running for 42 years Off-Broadway. You have probably heard its most well-known song, Try To Remember. It's a very simple, yet very theatrical show -- the characters often address themselves to the audience, and it takes inspiration from commedia dell'arte.
It is about a boy, a girl, their fathers, and a wall. Matt and Luisa, the Boy and Girl, are in love, but their fathers disapprove of their love, and have put up a wall to prevent their love...or so they think. Their fathers are actually secretly encouraging their romance, as they want them to get married, but know they would never agree to an arranged marriage. In order to end their fake feud, they hire a bandit, the famous El Gallo, and his trope of actors to stage an abduction for Matt to rescue Luisa from. All goes smoothly, and they seem to be all set for a happy ending...right?
EL GALLO: Their moon was cardboard, fragile. It was very apt to fray, And what was last night scenic May seem cynic by today. The play’s not done. Oh, no – not quite, For life never ends in the moonlit night; And despite what pretty poets say, The night is only half the day.
So we would like to truly finish What was foolishly begun. For the story is not ended And the play is never done Until we’ve all of us been burned a bit And burnished by – the sun!
What do you love about it?: The Fantasticks is a hard show to describe. There's a melancholic, moonlit quality about it. It's humorous, and sweet, and charming, and also sticks with you long after the show is done. It's about love and growing up--perhaps not very unique topics, but the way this show is done--!
I have never seen such poetry in a musical before. The "There is a Curious Paradox ," speech is so--
EL GALLO: There is a curious paradox That no one can explain. Who understands the secret Of the reaping of the grain?
Who understands why Spring is born Out of Winter’s laboring pain? Or why we all must die a bit Before we grow again.
I do not know the answer. I merely know it’s true. I hurt them for that reason; And myself a little bit, too.
(He steps back into the shadows.)
This show is hard to pin down, hard to analyze what is so lovable about it--but if you love it, you will always love it, and if you do not love it, you will never love it! This show--Luisa's hopes and dreams, Matt's desperation, the parents' longing to do right by their children, the very concept of the wall and how it calls back to Pyramus and Thisbe, El Gallo's dual nature as narrator and villain, the way it talks about the nature of stories, and stories within stories, the way it is scored so simply, mostly just a piano, the way it makes me dream. It is a gorgeous show, and though I cannot describe it accurately, it is just--please give it a shot.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
What I find most fascinating about the show is Luisa and El Gallo's relationship. El Gallo is both the narrator and the villain -- Luisa is young and "incurably insane," in the way young people are, and is fascinated by bandits and the romance that they present. And El Gallo's job is to be the villain that hurts her, and forces her to grow up -- only, only that becomes increasingly distasteful to him as he knows her. She breaks through the mask of the villain to what he is underneath. He is not bad, merely playing a role -- but that role begins to hurt him as well as her. And he kisses her upon the eyes, and tells her he will return, and the story must be played out, and the girl must be left, and the villain must hurt her, but that does not mean it does not hurt him too.
L GALLO: (Taking the mask from her.) Now hurry. You must back so that we may run away.
LUISA: Kiss me first.
EL GALLO: All right.
LUISA: Ahh.
EL GALLO: What is it?
LUISA: At last! I have been kissed upon the eyes. No matter what happens, I’ll never forget that kiss. I’ll go now.
EL GALLO: One word, Luisa, listen: I want to tell you this – I promise to remember, too That one particular kiss.
And now hurry; we have a lifetime for kisses!
LUISA: True. You’ll wait here?
EL GALLO: I promise.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: I would mostly recommend just reading a script and going by that!
A lot of The Fantasticks is very timeless, but there are two parts of it that aged badly, and I feel they warrant some detailed explanation.
The song "It Depends On What You Pay," in the original version uses the word "rape," in its original context to mean "abduction," as a form of wordplay, and as a reference to the original 1894 play. It is not used in a way to make fun of rape, but it could still perhaps be triggering, so please take care. This aspect of the song has gradually been phased out throughout the years, and modern versions rarely use it, but if you are looking into the show, you will likely come across it.
Another aspect that has aged badly is Mortimer. Mortimer is one of the actors hired by El Gallo to play one of his villains in the abduction. In the original production, Mortimer was dressed in a stereotypical Native American costume. The joke of his character was that he did not speak for a very long time, and when he did, he had a Cockney accent, which was unexpected due to his appearance. The butt of the joke was not intended to be Native Americans, but it was still uncomfortable and never a good joke. This was also phased out of the show, but again, as this is a very long-running show, you may come across versions of it.
For me, it is important to note that both of these aspects were phased out by the original author who at this point is in his 90s, and is still reworking the show to make little changes like this. I think the willingness to address these uncomfortable, dated parts of the show is admirable considering when it was written, and who wrote it, and for me that means a lot. However, ymmv, and if that does not work for you, I completely understand that and respect it!
The Fantasticks - Schmidt/Jones
Media: Off-Broadway musical
Approx length: One hour and forty-five minutes.
Where to find it:
There are tons of copies online! I recommend reading a script first and listening to a cast recording first though, as I haven't found a recording online that gets the poetry right.
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL4465489W/Fantasticks?edition=ia%3Afantasticksceleb00schm
Here is a pretty good college recording too! The music is spot on, and the cast is pretty decent, but the script is an older one, so there's some outdated aspects to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJjQpC_pzWo
This is the Hallmark Hall of Fame version from 1964! It is very abridged, but a good taste of the show, and has the best cast out of the available options!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvsK_m7nSkI
Here is the original cast recording on youtube! I highly reccomend giving it as listen, as it is one of my favorite cast recordings of all time because the cast is SO good.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVvnj7NnfA_pkbWT-J8DluBiu7l0oWO38
What is it, in summary?:
The Fantasticks is a musical based on the 1894 play, The Romancers by the same author who wrote Cyrano de Bergerac. It is the longest-running musical ever, running for 42 years Off-Broadway. You have probably heard its most well-known song, Try To Remember. It's a very simple, yet very theatrical show -- the characters often address themselves to the audience, and it takes inspiration from commedia dell'arte.
It is about a boy, a girl, their fathers, and a wall. Matt and Luisa, the Boy and Girl, are in love, but their fathers disapprove of their love, and have put up a wall to prevent their love...or so they think. Their fathers are actually secretly encouraging their romance, as they want them to get married, but know they would never agree to an arranged marriage. In order to end their fake feud, they hire a bandit, the famous El Gallo, and his trope of actors to stage an abduction for Matt to rescue Luisa from. All goes smoothly, and they seem to be all set for a happy ending...right?
EL GALLO:
Their moon was cardboard, fragile.
It was very apt to fray,
And what was last night scenic
May seem cynic by today.
The play’s not done.
Oh, no – not quite,
For life never ends in the moonlit night;
And despite what pretty poets say,
The night is only half the day.
So we would like to truly finish
What was foolishly begun.
For the story is not ended
And the play is never done
Until we’ve all of us been burned a bit
And burnished by – the sun!
What do you love about it?:
The Fantasticks is a hard show to describe. There's a melancholic, moonlit quality about it. It's humorous, and sweet, and charming, and also sticks with you long after the show is done. It's about love and growing up--perhaps not very unique topics, but the way this show is done--!
I have never seen such poetry in a musical before. The "There is a Curious Paradox ," speech is so--
EL GALLO:
There is a curious paradox
That no one can explain.
Who understands the secret
Of the reaping of the grain?
Who understands why Spring is born
Out of Winter’s laboring pain?
Or why we all must die a bit
Before we grow again.
I do not know the answer.
I merely know it’s true.
I hurt them for that reason;
And myself a little bit, too.
(He steps back into the shadows.)
This show is hard to pin down, hard to analyze what is so lovable about it--but if you love it, you will always love it, and if you do not love it, you will never love it! This show--Luisa's hopes and dreams, Matt's desperation, the parents' longing to do right by their children, the very concept of the wall and how it calls back to Pyramus and Thisbe, El Gallo's dual nature as narrator and villain, the way it talks about the nature of stories, and stories within stories, the way it is scored so simply, mostly just a piano, the way it makes me dream. It is a gorgeous show, and though I cannot describe it accurately, it is just--please give it a shot.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
What I find most fascinating about the show is Luisa and El Gallo's relationship. El Gallo is both the narrator and the villain -- Luisa is young and "incurably insane," in the way young people are, and is fascinated by bandits and the romance that they present. And El Gallo's job is to be the villain that hurts her, and forces her to grow up -- only, only that becomes increasingly distasteful to him as he knows her. She breaks through the mask of the villain to what he is underneath. He is not bad, merely playing a role -- but that role begins to hurt him as well as her. And he kisses her upon the eyes, and tells her he will return, and the story must be played out, and the girl must be left, and the villain must hurt her, but that does not mean it does not hurt him too.
L GALLO:
(Taking the mask from her.)
Now hurry. You must back so that we may run away.
LUISA:
Kiss me first.
EL GALLO:
All right.
LUISA:
Ahh.
EL GALLO:
What is it?
LUISA:
At last! I have been kissed upon the eyes. No matter what happens, I’ll never forget that kiss. I’ll go now.
EL GALLO:
One word, Luisa, listen:
I want to tell you this –
I promise to remember, too
That one particular kiss.
And now hurry; we have a lifetime for kisses!
LUISA:
True. You’ll wait here?
EL GALLO:
I promise.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: I would mostly recommend just reading a script and going by that!
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
A lot of The Fantasticks is very timeless, but there are two parts of it that aged badly, and I feel they warrant some detailed explanation.
The song "It Depends On What You Pay," in the original version uses the word "rape," in its original context to mean "abduction," as a form of wordplay, and as a reference to the original 1894 play. It is not used in a way to make fun of rape, but it could still perhaps be triggering, so please take care. This aspect of the song has gradually been phased out throughout the years, and modern versions rarely use it, but if you are looking into the show, you will likely come across it.
Another aspect that has aged badly is Mortimer. Mortimer is one of the actors hired by El Gallo to play one of his villains in the abduction. In the original production, Mortimer was dressed in a stereotypical Native American costume. The joke of his character was that he did not speak for a very long time, and when he did, he had a Cockney accent, which was unexpected due to his appearance. The butt of the joke was not intended to be Native Americans, but it was still uncomfortable and never a good joke. This was also phased out of the show, but again, as this is a very long-running show, you may come across versions of it.
For me, it is important to note that both of these aspects were phased out by the original author who at this point is in his 90s, and is still reworking the show to make little changes like this. I think the willingness to address these uncomfortable, dated parts of the show is admirable considering when it was written, and who wrote it, and for me that means a lot. However, ymmv, and if that does not work for you, I completely understand that and respect it!