THE FANTASTICKS Previews

It’s the classic musical you know and love… with a gay twist.

The Broadway premiere of The Fantasticks starts tomorrow night (October 22), before a November 16 official opening. Maxim Chlumecky and Nathan Levy play the young lovers Matt and Lewis (formerly Luisa); also featured are Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Ruthie Ann Miles, Zane Phillips, David Patrick Kelly, Kevin Del Aguila, and Ahmad Simmons. The cherished score is by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, with new lyrics and a book by Jones; Christopher Gattelli directs and choreographs. The Fantasticks runs until February 7 at the Helen Hayes Theatre.

“Two boys. Their mothers. And a mischievous plan to make the young men fall in love. This is The Fantasticks, known and adored across the globe, in a Broadway premiere that brings glorious new life to the beloved classic. With a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, this inspired reinterpretation celebrates love, reconciliation, and the singular power of theater.”

Who here’s planting a radish?!

Updated On: 10/21/26 at 12:00 AM

Going Saturday!

TexanAddams18 said: "I'm too tired to give a full review atm but this was a directorial masterclass by Gatelli. Fantastic production."

Id also say this production was a comedy masterclass by not just Ruthie Ann Miles and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer but also Kevin Del Aguila and David Patrick Kelly. and major bonus points go out to Ahmad Simmons who despite not saying a single word is able to communicate so much physically not just in slapstick but in the way he moves as a dancer, its truly spectacular to watch. the chemistry between Nathan Levy and Maxim Chlumecky I thought was adorable, and I dont know what y'all were thinking when you said Zane Phillips was miscast cause that man is not only incredibly dashing but his voice is so beautiful.

As someone who was completely unfamiliar with the show before I was also surprised at how mostly conceptual the piece is directed. (Idk if that's how it's usually done this way or maybe I'm just over thinking it). Jen Schreiver's lighting and Linda Cho's costumes are the real highlights on a technical level.

With all that being said, I do think people's enjoyment of the show will depend on how familiar they are with this material. and it's one you're gonna either try to remember (pun intended) or just simply forget about in a couple days.

Updated On: 10/22/26 at 11:37 PM

Wonderful. Thanks for for the great review. (knew Zane and this cast would be great). Exciting!

People sharing opinions about casting before shows is normal and should be expected. It happens all the time in a multitude of areas in life.

Believing one's an anticipatory reaction is definitely accurate or refusing to consider others' might think differently, is another thing entirely.

The lesson from this and Rocky Horror is to never bet against the singing hunk!

very excited by these reports, will try to check this out soon.

I saw the show tonight and thought it was very genuine. The actors were all appealing and the gender changes were pretty seamless. Someone who was not familiar with the show might’ve thought that it was originally written that way. There were a few moments where the marriage of all the elements were quite stunning and emotional. One being Soon It’s Gonna Rain and the other the reprise of Try To Remember at the end of the show. Maxim Chlumecky had an awesome voice, just so easy to listen too. Ruthie Ann Miles was reliably wonderful and Kevin Del Aguila was very funny as Mortimer. The romantic lovers had good chemistry.

The second act isn’t constructed as well as the first so I found myself less involved. I’m not quite sure what the fix is. It could be that it is not fleshed out well enough as far as the script is concerned. It felt contrived until the couple was reunited.

I did not care for the costume that El Gallo was wearing. It was too tight and distracting and took me out of the play. He deserved better. I would have preferred a costume that enhanced his masculinity. All the other costumes were A+. I loved Maxim’s outfit. The shirt was very cool and the entire ensemble was very flattering.

Unfortunately, I was sitting in G11 against the wall; house right in the orchestra. It should’ve been sold as a partial view ticket because anytime something happened up stage right I couldn’t see anything. Also, there were times the downstage actors were blocking upstage actors. I thought the blocking could’ve happened a little bit more downstage in general given that it’s such a small show and it would’ve opened up the scene work more, to parts of the audience. I would say don’t buy any seats against the wall house left in the Orchestra. House right probably would be a little better since the blocking seemed to veer more to stage right. Ideally, for the way it’s staged. I would recommend sitting in center seats. Maybe the director will correct some of these issues in previews. It’s always a little disappointing when staging on Broadway creates partial views. It’s kind of directing 101 to stage in a way that everyone can clearly see what’s going on. If I had paid partial view, I probably wouldn’t even be talking about this, but since it was full price……But the director gets high marks conceptually, and for finding the right tone of the piece. The show will only blossom as it continues in previews. But I would advise the director to sit in G 11 and watch the show for one of the previews. I have a feeling some adjustments might be made. Some lighting as well.

Updated On: 10/26/26 at 02:09 AM

There are no queer or queer centric characters in DEAR EVAN HANSEN. It is all a bunch of straight people.

Speed said: "I haven’t seen this production but the 2nd act is the whole point of the show. Same with Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George. I don’t understand why people don’t get that."

It did not have anything to do with the point of the show, it had more to do with how the story telling was constructed. Sometimes in musical comedy the text is not fleshed out as well as it is in a nonmusical. So it is harder to connect emotionally to the journey the characters are on and the beats and shifts within the scene work often happen quickly. What the characters were experiencing felt more two dimensional than three partly because the story was being told in a very presentational way and the characters were not very conflicted. Also how the narrator guides the two men through their experiences carries some weight. I wasn’t confused I just was more connected to the first act as well as when the lovers were reunited in the 2nd.

Updated On: 10/26/26 at 09:18 AM

UWS10023 said: "What the characters were experiencing felt more two dimensional than three partly because the story was being told in a very presentational way and the characters were not very conflicted. Also how the narrator guides the two men through their experiences carries some weight. I wasn’t confused I just was more connected to the first act as well as when the lovers were reunited in the 2nd."

'The Fantasticks' is an example of allegory so everything you described (i.e. presentational, felt more two dimensional than three, etc.) makes sense with that in mind.

Updated On: 10/26/26 at 12:04 PM

delete - posted on wrong thread

Updated On: 10/26/26 at 01:27 PM