The Fantasticks announces May closing
The Fantasticks announces May closing
MusicAndPassion
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/05
#1The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:38am
Per Playbill.com: "The Off-Broadway revival of The Fantasticks, still the longest-running musical in world history and the longest-running play of any kind in American history, has announced that it will close in May."
More details to come, too.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/fantasticks-announces-may-closing-345121
#2The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:11am
Haven't they announced a closing before?
They always end up hanging in there.
....but the world goes 'round
PJPan
Featured Actor Joined: 5/6/13
#2The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:14amWell, I guess it's as good a time as any to finally see it.
#3The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:15amI am so glad that I chose to see this show on my last trip to the city as it has always been on my bucket list!
#4The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 10:22amWhat a bummer! I really adore this show.
#5The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 10:49amAw
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#6The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 10:54amThey have had major financial issues. I'm surprised it didn't close sooner.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#7The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 11:09am
I love the show, but it was in pretty sad shape when I saw it a few years ago.
CHURCH DOOR TOUCAN GAY MARKETING PUPPIES MUSICAL THEATER STAPLES PERIOD OIL BITCHY SNARK HOLES
#8The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 12:04pmthe last time I saw this about a year ago there was roughly only 50-60 people in the audience. And this was on a Friday night. Granted it's very cheap to run, but I just don't think there's an audience for this show any more.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
#9The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 12:19pmSaw this show on a whim in 2011 without having heard the score or anything, and I completely fell in love with it. Glad that it's had a nice long run.
YouDon'tClimbTrees?
Understudy Joined: 11/24/09
#10The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 1:07pmThis is a shame. Does anyone know if they're also closing "Perfect Crime?" If not, that would be ironic. #whatabunchofcrapolathatwas
#11The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 1:31pmI'll never forget when I asked friends "How was A Perfect Crime?" They responded with a short review -- "It was one."
Thparkaly
Stand-by Joined: 9/11/12
#13The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 2:19pmThe Fantasticks is one of my favorites...I grew up on the score and I got to see Sara Jean Ford and Santino Fontana in the original cast of this production way back in 2006. It's a lovely, sweet little show.
#14The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 5:15pmIsn't this kinda "cheating"? The original production closed in 2002 and I don't believe the current one opened until 2006...
TorontoBroadwayFan
Stand-by Joined: 2/19/15
#15The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/25/15 at 5:23pmI'm sorry I've missed this one. Every time I come to NYC, I say I will catch it if I get a free spot in my show schedule. Now it looks like I can't say, next time!
#16The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/26/15 at 12:43am
Eric, they've been cheating with those numbers for years now. They have frequently touted themselves as the longest-running musical in the world or show in NYC, both of which are patently false but they can kinda fudge it and get away with it. They also celebrated some-thousandth performance of the show, a patently impossible number I forget now, by combining the runs of the two productions.
And Patash, that PERFECT CRIME review reminded me of my friends' own: "The only Perfect Crime is that people pay money to see that." Not as pithy as yours, but somehow I doubt your friends and mine are the same. Oh, that show...
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
#17The Fantasticks announces May closing
Posted: 3/26/15 at 12:57am
I definitely think they would like us to forget about those 4 years where it was closed. Yes, they've been cheating a bit. But I understand why they do. (a) I don't think the 2 productions are all that different from each other. (b) The gap that separated them is smaller than most gaps between originals and revivals. (c) I think it's fair-game to capitalize on how iconic the show is, which is due largely to the fact that it's been a constant presence in NY for decades (with the slight exception of 4 years in the middle-- but we don't have to talk about that :P )
When they celebrated 20,000 performances, it was the "20,000th Off-Broadway performance," which is technically accurate, and still impressive despite the glaring asterisk.
Videos