Fifty FANTASTICK years
Fifty FANTASTICK years
#1Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 3:33pm
50 years ago tonight THE FANTASTICKS opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse to mostly negative notices and sparse audiences. The story of its initial reception and uphill struggle is now an off-Broadway legend. The original production ran 17,162 performances (the longest continuous run of record in the American Theatre) and closed when the Sullivan Street Theatre was closed. (An article about the property is linked below.)
The show has been done in theatres large and small all over the world. Audiences never seem to tire of the simple story, the imaginative staging, and the melodic score by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones. (Three years later they would make their Broadway debut with another wonderful score for the somewhat under appreciated 110 IN THE SHADE.)
Decca Broadway remastered the original M-G-M cast album, and there is even better sound quality on the 2006 revival cast album from Ghostlight.
Tonight a special performance will mark the anniversary, but you can celebrate THE FANTASICKS anytime, and you no longer have to head way down to Sullivan Street: The Snapple Theatre Centre is right in the heart of the theatre district. The Jerry Orbach Theatre (named after the original El Gallo) is configured to closely mimic the Sullivan Street space, providing contemporary audiences with the opportunity to enjoy this intimate little show exactly the ways so many people experienced the original production fifty years ago.
181 Sullivan St.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#2Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 4:31pmThe Fantasticks is one of my all-time favorite shows, I absolutely love it. I saw the show again on Saturday night and it's in great shape right now, the cast is very strong all around.
#2Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 4:51pmWho is in the show now? When I saw it last fall Lewis Cleale, Jonathan Schwartz, and Addie McDaniel were the leads.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#3Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 5:00pm
El Gallo - Edward Watts
Matt - Erik Altemus
Luisa - Kimberly Whalen
Hucklebee - Gene Jones
Bellomy - Steve Routman
Henry - Thomas Bruce aka Tom Jones
Mortimer - Michael Nostrand
The Mute - Matt Leisy
Kimberly Whalen is the best Luisa I've seen...probably since Julie Craig was in the cast, she's very funny and has a beautiful voice. Edward Watts is also wonderful as El Gallo. I'm still rather partial to Lewis Cleale in that role though, he was perfection.
Updated On: 5/3/10 at 05:00 PM
#4Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 5:28pm
Kimberly Whalen is everything I have ever imagined Luisa to be. I saw her third performance and she was absolutely enchanting.
I'll be there tonight. Can't wait to see Tom Jones and the rest of the cast celebrate the unprecedented (but totally deserved) anniversary of one of my favorite musicals.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#5Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 5:50pm50 years later and it's still playing to sparse audiences, no?
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#7Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 6:13pmIs it not true? Maybe it's a mob scene there. I dunno. I was just asking.
#8Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/3/10 at 6:26pmI never saw the show down on Sullivan Street but for the most part when I've seen this production it's been about 50% full, sometimes less, sometimes more. On Saturday night it was pretty full, the only empty seats were on the very sides.
#9Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/4/10 at 8:30am
The show was absolutely wonderful last night. The audience was nearly full, with a few scattered empty seats. Tom Jones is hysterical and Kimberly Whalen is gorgeous. The show is in remarkable shape and should be an example to the jaded actors on Broadway (*cough*CHICAGOLIONKINGWICKED*cough*) who walk through their performances nightly because they think the show has been running too long to care. Those actors at the Jerry Orbach Theatre STILL put their all into the show as if it had just opened.
Here's to 50 more, FANTASTICKS!
#10Fifty FANTASTICK years
Posted: 5/4/10 at 10:54amI think they never sell the entire house, because some seats are partial/obstructed view and they are not sold on porpuse, feel free to correct me.
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