With New ‘Lush’ Orchestrations, THE FANTASTICKS ‘Will Be Touching in Unexpected Ways’

The original 1960 Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks made history as the world’s longest-running musical, so it’s safe to say that theatergoers know Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones’ classic score. 

Despite 42 years and 17,162 performances, the musical — which was revived Off-Broadway in 2006 and played through 2017 — has never been on the Great White Way. This season, The Fantasticks will finally make its long-awaited Broadway bow, but in a new production that has been reimagined as a gay contemporary love story with the character of Luisa now known as Lewis. 

Music supervisor and orchestrator Sam Davis has been tasked with preparing The Fantasticks for its debut on the Main Stem without having the music lose its magic. The concept, he exclusively tells BroadwayWorld, was that if The Fantasticks was “going to Broadway, we don’t want to lose the intimacy of what it was, but we want to make it a little bit more lush.” 

The new adaptation of The Fantasticks, which was completed by Jones before his death in 2023, was first presented in 2022 at Flint Repertory Theatre in Michigan and developed at Provincetown Playhouse in Provincetown, Massachusetts, as well as Coachella Valley Repertory in California. Davis joined the team in 2025 and — as a big fan of the musical himself — was excited to dig in. “I have music directed [the show] professionally once,” Davis says. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I could play this score every night.’” 

Below, Davis tells BroadwayWorld about how the score and orchestrations have changed for Broadway and what audiences can expect when The Fantasticks begins performances October 22, ahead of its official November 16 opening night, at the Helen Hayes Theatre.

How does the musical language change when this new revival of The Fantasticks re-envisions the character of Luisa to be Lewis, and the characters of the Fathers are now Mothers?

Well, it’s one of the greatest scores ever written, and there’s something timeless about the score. I don’t want to change it just to change it or unnecessarily change it. But, of course, when you switch genders, some range and key issues come up. So we’ve changed some keys and some notes, but really not as much as you would think. Luisa was written originally as a soprano, and that actually fits pretty well into a tenor range. So most of the love duets, we’re leaving the way they were. We’ve raised the key for “Much More,” just slightly, to put it in a better spot for a male voice.

The biggest thing has been figuring out what to do with the coloratura stuff. Some of it we’ve cut, some of it I’ve rewritten to make it fit in a man’s voice. Most of it’s the music we all know and love — and often in the same key. The Mothers’ [Ruthie Ann Miles and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer] numbers are pretty much the same, just [in] slightly lower keys so that we put it in a more belty range. 

It must be exciting to hear it in new keys given that The Fantasticks was running for so long Off-Broadway. What’s going to be surprising for audiences?

The biggest change is going to be the orchestra because, for years, The Fantasticks ran Off-Broadway with piano and harp, and now we have eight pieces, so that’s going to be a big change.

It will feel more lush. If you know the piano and harp version very well, this will definitely feel bigger. Thanks to [director] Chris Gattelli, we’ve all been on the same page: me, the designers, the set designer, Costume Designer — everybody — about how to expand the show for Broadway without losing the intimacy that makes it so special. We’re in the Helen Hayes Theatre, the smallest Broadway theater, so I don’t want it to sound supersized for many reasons. We’re sticking to eight pieces, which is still pretty intimate and chambery, but it’s bigger than the original. We went back and forth on what the actual instruments should be, and one thing Chris really wants to emphasize in this version is the romance — the love story. With two men now, he really wants that to be reflected in the music and to have it feel lush and emotional. We’re having three strings, which I hope will fill out what’s already there, but make it feel romantic and emotional in a new way.

What are the pieces that you’ll have in the orchestra?

Three strings. We have woodwind doubler, we have trumpet, we have bass, we have piano and celesta. And then, of course, we still have the harp, and the harp parts are staying the same whenever they can.

Tell me about working with Christopher Gattelli. Are you finding opportunities to expand the music to incorporate more movement and dance?

We’re starting that process, but I’ve worked with Chris for many years on different projects like Death Becomes Her, and he is so creative and inspiring musically. There’s always going to be elements to reshape music to fit what he needs to support his staging vision. I know, for instance, the “Abduction Ballet,” he has some great tricks up his sleeve for that staging-wise, and I’m definitely going to be expanding and changing.

The Fantasticks has classics like “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain.” Were there challenges in trying to make these songs sound new or fresh for Broadway but not take away what’s so special about them?

With those classic songs, we need to be able to deliver those songs the way people know them and love them. So we’re definitely not changing them up, arrangement-wise. Hopefully, the orchestration will flesh out what’s already there, but we’re not reinventing the wheel. But when you hear “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” sung by two men — just the quality of their voices and the fact that it’s two men — will make you hear it in a completely different way. And hearing [Maxim Chlumecky and Nathan Levy] sing these classic songs [in rehearsal] — the quality of their voices and the new take on the gender roles — it already feels so new, so fresh. And the thing that’s so great is that I don’t think anyone in the cast has been in The Fantasticks before. Chris had never done it before [either], so they’re all approaching it like it’s a new show to them, so it feels like you’re hearing it for the first time.

When it comes to this production as a whole, what can you say will be new and exciting for audiences given two male actors are at the heart of the love story?

One of the great things about The Fantasticks is that it’s the perfect balance of being funny, but also being touching, and that’s why it’s been popular for so long. The touching parts will be more touching than they have been, I think, with our cast [in] the same-sex version. A lot of the lines and the lyrics mean something different now when they’re sung by two men. I’m hoping it will be touching in unexpected ways. 

When you looked at the lyrics and the score for this re-envisioned gay love story, did you see the music in a completely different light?

Yes. For instance, the Mothers who used to be Fathers have that song “Plant a Radish,” which is about how a parent feels when your kids don’t necessarily turn out the way you thought they would, as opposed to vegetables — where you plant a carrot, you get a carrot. That has a different meaning now when your kids are gay. We had a long discussion about how the meaning is different, but it adds a new element to it — and how to play that. Of course, the whole plot in Act I, especially, is about the Mothers trying to get their kids together. So from the outset, it’s very clear that the Mothers are supportive of this same-sex relationship.

You’ve worked on revivals and also new musicals. Is there something satisfying or challenging about reinventing music that audiences have already heard?

Definitely satisfying. Obviously, you don’t want to damage what’s there. I’ve been lucky in that when I’ve worked on revivals where you have to reinterpret it, it’s always a score that I really love. I love The Fantasticks, and I love Company and John Kander’s music for New York, New York. I always try to hang onto my love for the original material when you’re making changes to it and hoping that my love for it will not ruin it — not distort it.

With The Fantasticks, Harvey and Tom are no longer with us, but with Company, I got to work with [Stephen] Sondheim being there, and John Kander is, of course, still with us and was around for New York, New York. It was inspiring that they both were very open to their stuff being reinterpreted and changed, but they were there to say, “My intention when I wrote this originally was this.” But both of them wanted to see it be fresh and new. So I like to think that Tom and Harvey would want that, too.

Is there a certain responsibility that you feel knowing that they’re no longer with us?

Definitely. It’s such a beloved score. There are people who have Fantasticks-themed weddings and people who have tattoos of a moon on their arm. People love the show, and we need to deliver the score for them. At the same time, if we tried to recreate the show exactly and do everything exactly as it originally would be done, it would not be satisfying. It would feel stale. So I do feel the pressure of trying to keep what everyone and myself love about it, but — in small, subtle ways — make you hear it afresh. 

What are you excited for audiences to see?

I am excited for audiences to see Chris’ production and to experience the comedy and the touching parts of it completely anew. They’re going to go through all those feelings in a way they haven’t before.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

The Fantasticks will open on Broadway at the Hayes Theatre on November 16, 2026.

Photo Credit: Michaelah Reynolds