Music department to present 'The Fantasticks'

The music department will present the world's longest-running musical, "The Fantasticks," Friday and Saturday, April 5-6, in Chandler Recital Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center. Curtain time for both shows is 8 p.m.

The initial performance on April 4 marked the first time the department has produced a traditional theatrical musical.

Music faculty member Kevin Long is the director, musical director and choreographer for the show. He has collaborated with faculty from the university theatre program for assistance with lighting and set construction. This is their second collaboration this year. Long was the musical director for the theatre program's recent production of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

"The Fantasticks," which opened at New York's Sullivan Street Playhouse on May 3, 1960, and closed Jan. 13, 2002, after a record 17,162 performances, features the music of Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics of Tom Jones. The musical includes the well-known songs "Soon It's Gonna Rain" and "Try to Remember."

On a nearly bare stage, the eight student performers share a modest tale of a boy and a girl and the pain of growing up. The show's program notes call it "a symphony of the human experience which sparkles from its first note to its last as its characters exchange their illusions for a few precious grains of truth."

Seven of the eight cast members are music majors, while the eighth is working on a degree in elementary education.

Tickets are $10 ($5 for Old Dominion students with ID). For reservations call 683-5455.