'Remembering 56 Years of ‘The Fantasticks’

The longest running musical of all time, 'The Fantasticks,' has just hit a new milestone. The moonlit tale of a boy, a girl, two fathers, a wall, a box full of actors and a bandit hit a record breaking 21,000 performances on Monday. The show, while technically Off-Broadway because of seating capacity, originally starring Jerry Orbach ('Chicago,' '42nd Street,' 'Law & Order') as the lead El Gallo, now plays out a Broadway theater bearing the actors name. Written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (both of which also wrote I Do! I Do!) the show’s simple yet mesmerizing score and poetic book and lyrics has been charming audiences all around the world for over 55 years. Based off of Edmond Rostand’s play 'Les Romanesques,' which itself is loosely (very loosely) based on 'Romeo & Juliet,' tells the story of two romantics who dream themselves star crossed lovers and the plot to cross and uncross them.