THE FANTASTICKS to Open at Town Hall Theatre, 7/25

It's the longest-running musical of all time, playing in the same off-Broadway theater for over 40 years.

The Fantasticks won't play in Middlebury's Town Hall Theater quite that long - just 5 performances at the end of July - but it promises to be an extraordinary theatrical event.

The Skinner Barn in Waitsfield is now in its 11th season of presenting Broadway musicals. "They have a reputation for doing terrific musical theater. People are always stopping me on the street to ask if I've seen the latest hit at the Skinner Barn. So we went out of our way to invite them here this summer," says THT executive director Douglas Anderson.

Founded by Broadway and soap opera veteran Peter Boynton, Skinner Barn will be the fourth company featured in THT's MiddSummer Nights Theater Festival. Boynton will star in the role of El Gallo.

In a clever reversal of the Romeo and Juliet story, the two fathers in The Fantasticks attempt to spark a romance between their children by devising a scheme in which they pretend to feud. What unfolds is a timeless story of innocence undone, of illusion lost and wisdom gained; a story of growing up and facing the challenges of the real world and in the process finding that love was waiting in your own backyard.

The score, which is by turns touching, jazzy, and extremely funny, includes the classic ballad "Try to Remember."

The Fantasticks will play five performances at Town Hall Theater: July 25-27 at 8 pm, a 2:00 matinee on July 27, and a 7 pm performance on July 28. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.townhalltheater.org, 802 382-9222, at the THT box office (daily except Sunday, Noon-5 pm) and at the door.

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