The Fantasticks Staying Open

[gstrus2]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 12:31pm

Anonymous donors keeping it open indefinitely. 

NY Times Article

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 12:52pm

I bet they'll be able to attend private performances just for them...because they'll be the only people in the audience.

[tazber]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 2:19pm

I had a feeling this was going to happen.

 

[devonian.t]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 2:27pm

I didn't realize After Eight had so much spare cash.

[Demitri2]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 2:40pm

Curious to know the most famous performers people saw in the show over the years. My first viewing was a production starring Elliott Gould as El Gallo and Liza with a Z as "the girl" (who was actually almost the age of the character at the time). Saw it years later at the Sullivan Street Playhouse with a young Betsy Joslyn. And the last time the actress playing the girl was this redhead with tweezed eyebrows who looked to be approaching forty. The usher told me she was the reliable last minute "go to" actress from the past they would call when the regular girl and her standby were unavailable. When she proclaimed, "I'm sixteen and have never been kissed upon the eyes" (or something along those lines) the sparse but attentive audience roared. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 3:16pm

I adore this show. I hate the thought of it not playing in New York. I'm glad it's staying open for now. Hopefully they can maybe roll out a new marketing plan and get some butts in seats.

[Fantod]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 3:41pm

It's a wonderful show. I'm glad it's staying open.

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 9:18pm

A little good news for a change.

It's most welcome!

[Kad]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 11:07pm

It's nice that they had people willing to keep them afloat... but the fact still remains people were not, and are not, seeing the production. At all.

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 4/25/15 at 11:09pm

I'll be seeing it when i get back! It it in that little place by the Broadway Theatre? Across from the Winter Garden?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 1:26am

Yes,  on Broadway and 50 th.  Great news 

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 1:47am

It looks like a little broke down shop. They should try making it look nicer on the outside, and have a little marquee or something

[aj88]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 8:33am

I remember seeing The Fantasticks at the old Sullivan Playhouse back in the late 90s for the first time. For a few years, it was actually my favorite musical.

There is something about this show that has a magical life of its own and it always makes me happy to revisit the score (and I REEEALLY want to play El Gallo).

There are other musicals I have grown to prefer as I've gotten older but this is just one show where I'm always happy knowing it is there...even if it doesn't sell strongly and when they announced its closing, I had a feeling it could get an 11th hour reprieve.

I hope it can stay open at least a few more years.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 3:51pm

I have it from a very reliable source that a former cast member is trying to get NYC to subsidize the show as a city institution and move it to a nicer venue.

Incidentally, the theater it is now playing in is no longer called the "Snapple Theater Center"  Snapple pulled out of the project a while ago.  That accounts for why the exterior is in such shoddy condition.

[Fantod]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 3:57pm

That sounds like a good idea. It really should be a city institution, as it has been running since 1960 (despite a few year break)

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 5:05pm

I think A Chorus Line should be an institution too.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 8:44pm

Oh, I was going to say the outside is horrible. And I think the physical production of the show is rather basic and ugly. I've seen some gorgeous productions of the show and wish they could redesign it. The theater is super cramped too - the ceilings must be 8 ft if even. I just didn't really feel like I got my money's worth. But I like listening to the recording. 

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 8:55pm

I'm not a huge fan of the show, but it is a theatrical landmark.  I hope it runs forever.

And yes, Namo.  A Chorus Line should be an institution.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 4/26/15 at 10:06pm

"Oh, I was going to say the outside is horrible. And I think the physical production of the show is rather basic and ugly. I've seen some gorgeous productions of the show and wish they could redesign it. The theater is super cramped too - the ceilings must be 8 ft if even. I just didn't really feel like I got my money's worth. But I like listening to the recording. "

 

You do realize that the production that is playing in NYC now is a carbon copy of what it was when it played at the Sullivan Street Playhouse all those years.

 

As for shows being considered an institution, I honestly think that The Fantasticks has a better shot of getting it and getting government funding as a result than A Chorus Line does. Now, that's not to say that I don't like A Chorus Line, I really do and it's one of my all favorite shows. But, I think that The Fantasticks has the chance considering that it's still playing and the original run surpassed that of Chorus Line.  

[YouDon'tClimbTrees?]

Posted: 4/27/15 at 2:14pm

I'm very glad it's staying open but am I the only one who thought that their closing announcement was just a ploy and they never meant to close the show? I mean, why close that show and yet keep "Perfect Crime" open? I smelled a rat right away. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/27/15 at 2:31pm

If the show is in this much danger, I should take my boyfriend to see it on our next visit since he's never seen it.  I saw it twice at the Sullivan Street and once in this space and was enchanted each time.  I'd hate to see it go.

I mean, why close that show and yet keep "Perfect Crime" open?

Because they are different shows with different producers with different reasons?  Not to mention, I don't think I've ever met anyone who actually LIKED Perfect Crime, much less recommended it.  It's difficult enough to find those who have seen it.  I've always wondered how it stays open.

[tazber]

Posted: 4/27/15 at 2:35pm

Yea. They've done this a couple of times before.

Either way, I'm happy it's staying around.

[YouDon'tClimbTrees?]

Posted: 4/27/15 at 2:39pm

Right, I thought this was familiar. I guess it's free publicity.

And they really have to clean up the outside of that theater. 

[PJPan]

Posted: 4/27/15 at 2:56pm

I finally saw it after hearing that it was closing - happy that it's staying open and glad that I got to see it on stage. I was pleasantly surprised at the performers - I had expected a lower-energy matinee and was gladly proven wrong.