Long-Running Off-Broadway Musical The Fantasticks Will Close

The Fantasticks, the hit musical with an initial extended run that began in 1960, will close off-Broadway. The musical will end its run June 4 after having played 4,390 performances at the Jerry Orbach Theatre.

The original mounting of The Fantasticks opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse on May 3, 1960 and closed on January 13, 2002. The musical reopened on August 16, 2006 at the the Snapple Theater Center, now called the Theater Center. The venue inside the Theater Center where The Fantasticks plays was later renamed for original Fantasticks star Jerry Orbach.

At the time of its closing, The Fantasticks will have played a total of 21,552 performances in New York, including 17,162 at the Sullivan Street Playhouse.

Taking over for The Fantasticks at the Jerry Orbach Theatre will be the new play The Crusade of Connor Stephens, which will begin performances on June 17.

A modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks, with music by Harvey Schmidt and book, lyrics, and direction by Tom Jones, is the story of a boy and girl who fall in love and then quickly grow apart when they realize they want to experience the world. What follows is a story appropriate for all ages. The score includes the songs “Try To Remember,” “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and “They Were You.”