Fantastics-MUST SEE!!!

To all who haven't seen it, see "The Fantastiks" at the Snapple Theater Center in New York. The chance to see the original staging is an opportunity that is beyond belief. The show just glows. It is seldom that I ever go to the theater and just not wanted it to end. It is an evening of real theatrical emotion. Just go see it. Note to the producers of "The Fantastics":
DROP YOUR DAMN TICKET PRICES!!!
The show can't be that expensive to do and people are unwilling to pay this much to see a show with no set and minimal costumes no matter how good it is (and it is). Half price tickets should,be no more than $15 dollars. Your are killing your own show. I say this because I loved it so much and want more people to see it and EVERYONE should see this.

Just my opinion, I may be wrong.

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Updated On: 3/22/07 at 09:56 AM

I agree that their ticket prices are way too high...

Funny that you mention THE FANTASTICKS, as I saw it yesterday, and I found it to be nothing short of horrendous. I cannot imagine what all the fuss was about this show that somehow made it the longest running show in Off-Broadway history. It is painfully unfunny; at times agonizing, with shots of cheap, stupid, low-brow humor to keep the audience awake.

The entire plot line revolves around a father who hires two delinquents to perform an attempted rape on his daughter so that his friend's son can save her from the rapists and the two can fall happily in love. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I couldn't get past the fact that they were laughing and singing and dancing about the excitement of planning a rape. If they would have just been using the word "attack" -- that would have been one thing, but they repeatedly referred to it as a "rape" -- in song and dance nonetheless -- and I couldn't help but feel anything but disgust.

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Updated On: 3/22/07 at 10:24 AM

I completely agree that this is a WONDERFUL show and I highly recommend seeing it either student rush, or with a discount from Broadwaybox.com. I saw it a couple weeks ago, and I loved it so much I went back into the city and saw it again a week later. I love this cast, and it is well worth the price of admission, be it $75 or $35.

I liked The Fantasticks....a little odd but enjoyable....and I liked the score.

I am going to see it on Anthony Fedorov's opening night on May 1st. I am glad to hear that you liked it. As much as I want to see him, I would hate to suffer through a crappy show.

As far as the expensive tickets go, Broadwaybox.com and Theatermania.com always have cheap tickets for the show. Currently, they have half-price tickets on all performances until May 20th.

By the way, "rape" in this show means "abduction" - which is another meaning of the word.

Updated On: 3/22/07 at 12:17 PM

I just saw this production again yesterday, after seeing in numerous times on Sullivan Street. It was just as magical and beautiful as it was the first time I saw it.

As for the whole rape thing, you would never have liked it when I saw it the first time, the whole rape song had different lyrics, but they've been changed since then, for the very fact that you're citing.

However, you still have to realize that they are talking about it in historical terms, harkening back to Roman images, not to mention to the times when the original Rostand story was set. The piece takes place in no real times and place, but the word should be understood in this piece, and in fact the entire piece should be understood historically.

The changes were made, and I applaud them for that, without hurting the material.

On the whole, everyone should see this wonderful production, I hope it runs for 40 more years, really I do.

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Speaking of which.....

Anthony Fedorov was on this morning's GDNY and did 2 songs from the show - "Try To Remember" and "I Can See It"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQHJ3Ok-2yI

To clarify what sondhead is implying:

When a regional theatre contracts for the rights to do The Fantasticks, they get an incredibly detailed Production Guide book. It contains detailed notes on all the original staging and choreography, along with detailed descriptions and drawings of the sets and costumes (drawn by Harvey Schmidt).

If you want to do it exactly like the original, you can. If you choose to ignore the notes and do totally different staging, sets and costumes, that is perfectly fine too. Most productions settle on something in the middle - using some of the original ideas and adding some of their own.

I might see it again, and I'll have even reasons to see it if I happen to be in NYC while Anthony *cutie* Federov is starring in it.

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I wish I had seen the NYC version too.

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I have not seen the current production, but I saw it years ago at the Sullivan St. Playhouse. And like AC above, I have seen community theatre productions that were better. When done properly, it can charm the pants off you, dumb jokes and broad humor and all. For all its simplicity, at one level it's a delicate little show that needs just the right touch to work.

I think they have added some dialog and changed some lyrics to make it very clear that they are planning a kidnapping, NOT a sexual assault. I'll now zip my lip.

I would never see a show that uses such potty langauage as "rape". This must be something the producers just threw in for this version of the show. To try an be "cool" and get people to talk. A shame they have to stoop so low.

You know, MTV is to blame for all this potty talk.

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