The Little Show that Did

It is a rare parenting moment when a well-intended event occurs and everyone actually enjoys themselves as had been fantasized about!! And when sweet childhood memories are further buoyed by watching the kids excitedly engaged in the same thing, it's a double whammy! Seemingly unbelievable as well, but I digress.

Such was the happy outcome of our NYC jaunt last weekend to see "The Fantasticks" for my daughter's birthday. A theatrical classic I remember seeing when I was in high school at its original NYC haunt: the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village. It had a show-stopping 42 year run there before closing five years ago and moving uptown to its present location at the Snapple Theater at Broadway and 5oth.

But it's not just good theater that makes a Fantasticks ticket so fantastic. It's the fact that this is musical theater pared WAY down. And still it woos ticket holders and makes teens laugh and clap. Here, in a 150 seat black box theater, there are no Lion King costumes, no Phantom of the Opera chandeliers, no Mama Mia lyrics. What grabbed my kids from opening to close was all the benefits of the intimate setting. Here was theater up close and personal, but with enough drama & surprises (for my son) and memorable songs (for my daughter) to rival the best of Broadway. All a testament to its claim as the World's Longest Running Musical.

The simplicity of the sets and costumes MAKE theater goers pay attention to the story and the actors and the lines. The eight characters are marvelously brought to life with shrugs, glances and grimaces that can be seen and enjoyed by all as the last row is only 6 or 7 rows back. Gems of lines hang in the air for a moment before finding a happy home with anyone who wants to remember one for longer than the show ( a personal fave of mine: "A retinue of scoundrels..."), as there is no need to project to row FF or worse, work around amplification delays. There is even the potential for the actors to break character and offer good-natured chastising any latecomers to their seats, further underscoring the "we're all in this together" ambiance.

Of course the story is as old as time: Boy and Girl meet, fall in love and then have to be torn away from each other to realize what they had was pretty darn good. But once again, the simplicity and intimacy of the production make it clear to audience members of ALL ages, what the moral is and how close to home it is to all of us. It is not lost behind parallels to the Disney movie rendition, or the flamboyant finale choreography.

The guffaws and smirks and singing of tunes that my kids gave me in return for a night of Fantasticks theater far out-weighed the WOW factor of other shows we have seen together. And for a pair of kids whose experiences are usually measured against either the latest video game or the extent of musical appeal, this show was a wonderful "unplugged" family event that delivered so much more..