THE FANTASTICKS

By TOM JONES

Directed by James Padovano

The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" ("Les Romanesques") by Edmond Rostand, concerning 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 show's original off-Broadway production ran a total of 42 years and 17,162 performances, making it the world's longest-running musical.

Produced by Broccoli Theatricals at Theatre Unchained, 1024 S 5th Street, Milwaukee

Performances: January 29 - February 8, 2015

Performance Times: Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 PM, Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00 PM, Sundays at 6:00 PM

Ticket Prices: $23

Call for reservations or more information.