“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Fantasticks’ Run…
March 20th, 2017“`The off-Broadway phenomenon, The Fantasticks, will end its record-breaking run this spring, bringing down the curtain on a show featuring confetti and a cardboard moon that started when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. The musical, which features Try To Remember, closes June 4th; having played a total of 21,552 performances in Manhattan.
“`For nearly 42 years, this show originally ran at the 153-seat Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, finally closing in 2002 after 17,162 performances; the victim of a destroyed downtown, after 9/11. It re-opened four years later at The Theater Center, an off-Broadway complex in the heart of Times Square, where it will end, after a run of 4,390 shows. Scores of actors have appeared in The Fantasticks, from the opening cast that included Jerry Orbach, to Ricardo Montalban, Kristin Chenoweth, and Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham.
“`The tale is a mock version of Romeo and Juliet. It has since become the nation’s longest-running musical. The Phantom of the Opera, by comparison, is Broadway’s longest-running show, at 12,000. Its only rival is The Mousetrap in London, the longest-running show in the world, having passed 26,000 performances. (I have enjoyed all three productions).
MANNY PACHECO
“`In 2015, producers also declared the show would close that summer. But, two donors kept the stalwart, low-tech show open. This time, they are serious. A new production is scheduled to start previews June 17th in the same theater.
“`So, I bid adieu to The Fantasticks!
Until next time> “never forget”



























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