I'm asking all the "Fantasticks" enthusiasts out here:
Does anyone have the old and new lyrics to "It Depends On What You Pay?" I would like to see how they compare, since the "r" word has been changed in the new production.
I do know that they have sometimes replaced "It Depends On What You Pay" with a new song called "Abductions", that has basically the melody of the "Rape Ballet" with lyrics like : "Abductions, abductions, theatrical productions" I can't remember the rest.
Alternately, sometimes the lyric: "You can get the rape emphatic You can get the rape polite"
is changed to: "An abduction that's emphatic An abudction that's polite"
but the line "So you see the sort of rape depends on what you pay" stays. There is some extra dialogue that explains that by "rape" they mean in the classical sense. I haven't heard what they do in the new production. I do think "It Depends On What You Pay" is the far better song, and a terrific song in general. I do understand how the original lyric can unfortunately alter the meaning, though...
It's still called "It Depends on What You Pay," but they use the new lyrics. The word rape only appears when they're speaking. The "Rape Ballet" is now called the "Abduction Ballet."