'The Fantasticks' has the reputation of having the longest continuous run of any entertainment in the United States. The stage musical played off Broadway for 42 years. Then after a break of only 4 years the play was revived and the revival has now played for about ten years.
This peculiar, almost supernatural, success was not replicated elsewhere. The film version was not released initially and in Britain, two separate theatrical seasons flopped badly.
We were curious to see the work in its recent Sydney season.
The subject of the play is a twist on Romeo and Juliet. Neighbours stage a feud in the hope their respective son and daughter will be attracted to each other - to spite their fathers - and marry.
The play shows its age. The musical numbers are tuneful and the cast made the best of it but the work really is little more than a curiosity nowadays.
★★1/2
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