"Without a hurt the heart is hollow" - The Fantasticks

One of my favorite things about working in midtown Manhattan is anytime I have a broadway craving after work I can walk a few blocks to the theaters and usually always find last minute tickets to something.  Yesterday when I got this craving I decided to finally check out the off-broadway show, The Fantasticks. I'm a little bit ashamed that it took me this long to go see the world's longest running musical, but unfortunately the big lights of the broadway theaters surrounding the small Snapple Theater tend to superficially outshine it most days.  However, that's definitely all it is, is a superficial outshine.  The Fantasticks originally opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village in May 1960, a revival of the show opened at the Snapple Theater Center in June 2008.

The poetic beginning to the show sets the mood perfectly:

Let's go back beyond the smart of you 

Back to the special childlike part of you 

Back where your dreams are fancy free...

I absolutely loved The Fantasticks! The show doesn't depend on big spectacle through large cast dance numbers, special effects and scenery.  It's a small cast, on a small simple set, telling a genuine story full of romance, humor and real life lessons that leave you thinking about the show long after you've left.  Seeing The Fantasticks was like going back in time... I didn't feel like I was seeing the typical 2012 NYC theater production, it felt more like a traveling classic play that sucks in the audience and consumes them simply by having a good story, poetic script, music and quality actors to deliver the whole thing with passion.

I have to say that I was impressed by the entire cast, however my favorite of the night (and probably every other girl's in the audience) was Edward Watts as the narrator and heartthrob bandit El Gallo.  He has one of those old fashioned strong broadway voices that I can't resist.

Edward Watts as El Gallo

Also starring in the show was Aaron Carter, I guess trying to grow up and try new things after his teeny bobber days.  I was never a fan of Aaron Carter, but I went into the show with an open mind.  I was not blown away but I thought he did a good job.  I find that most of the time when celebrities are brought into any broadway show they lack that "bring you to the edge of your seat" voice that in my opinion is the best part of seeing a show. But if Aaron Carter will bring people to the show who otherwise would never have seen it I'm all for it.

Juliette Trafton as Luisa & Aaron Carter as Matt

If you're a theater fan I would recommend The Fantasticks as a MUST SEE!  If you're a tourist who is looking to see a lavish production as a treat on your vacation this is probably not for you.  I'll leave you with the ending poem that delivers the central theme to the show, that pain must be felt before real love can ever be, it has been in my head ever since:

There is a curious paradox that no one can explain. 

Who understands the secret of the reaping of the grain? 

Who understands why Spring is born out of Winter's laboring pain? 

Or why we all must die a bit before we grow again. 

I do not know the answer. 

I merely know it's true. 

I hurt them for that reason and myself a little bit too.