NEW YORK (voa) – The world’s longest-running musical has drawn its curtains for the last time after more than four decades on a New York City stage.
The off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks celebrated its final two performances Sunday at the tiny Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village after weeks of sold-out houses and much publicity.
The Fantasticks tells a story of a young boy and girl who are brought together secretly by their fathers and whose love is tested over time by adversity.
Written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, it is based on an obscure play, Les Romanesques, by Edmund Rostand, author of the much-acclaimed Cyrano de Bergerac.
The production is perhaps best known for two hit songs, “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain”, recorded over the years by such artists as Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett and Harry Belafonte. The Fantasticks opened in 1960 to mixed reviews.
Played by eight actors with a minimum of props and scenery in front of 150 theatergoers, it lasted 17,162 performances over the course of almost 42 years, the longest run for a musical in New York City, or anywhere else.
The production lasted more than twice as long as Broadway’s longest-running musical hit, Cats, which closed in 2000 after almost 7,500 performances.
