Review: THE FANTASTICKS Captivates Atlanta on a Rainy Night

On a rainy night in September, at Northside United Methodist Church, magic was created.

The Fantasticks ran, this weekend, and left audiences with memories that'll last a lifetime. As the

opening song suggests, "Try to remember the kind of September, when life was so tender." Yes,

tender moments were truly felt.

The Fantasticks starts with two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt,

into falling in love by pretending to feud. The fathers hire traveling actors to stage a mock abduction, so

that Matt can heroically seem to save Luisa, ending the supposed feud. When the children discover the

deception, they reject the arranged love match and separate. Each then gains disillusioning experiences

of the real world, seen in parallel fantasy sequences. They return to each other bruised but enlightened,

and they renew their vows with more maturity.

The 1960 musical, with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones, is an off-

Broadway production ran a total of 42 years and 17,162 performances, making it the world's longest-

running musical.

An interview with Jermal Collins, who played El Gallo in the production, considers this play

to be a great way to speak to an audience of various ages. "Anybody can take something from [The

Fantasticks]. Anyone who's been in love, or even a ten-year-old who likes fantasy, anyone can take

anything from it."

The Fantasticks used poetry and song to create a memorable story of love, deception, and

forgiveness. As the title suggests, it was truly fantastic.

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