There is a reason why this show is still playing off-Broadway after over 30 years - it's just down-right brilliant. What makes the show work so well is it's intimacy, but it's intimacy only works when it's scaled for a small audience. Try and make this bigger, and it suddenly becomes pale, even silly at times.
I was horrified to hear that an attempt was made to film this, and glad it was shelved for 5 years. Unfortunately, it has now been released, after being re-edited. Don't get me wrong - the cast is more than respectable; even NKOTB-ex, Joseph Mulrey McIntyre is sweet as Matt. Jonathon Morris as El Gallo is also a wonderful piece of casting, not to mention Joel Grey and Bernard Hughes as the feuding parents. Even the settings are wonderful, but at the end of the day, the magic of this show is created in a 300 seat theatre with 2 pianos and a harp...anything more is less.
To add insult to injury, someone obviously got cold feet about the song "Rape", and exchanged one of the show's highlights for a banal ditty. If you don't know "The Fantasticks", please don't watch this film, because it will make you hate the musical. If you know the musical, you might want to see it out of curiosity.
I was horrified to hear that an attempt was made to film this, and glad it was shelved for 5 years. Unfortunately, it has now been released, after being re-edited. Don't get me wrong - the cast is more than respectable; even NKOTB-ex, Joseph Mulrey McIntyre is sweet as Matt. Jonathon Morris as El Gallo is also a wonderful piece of casting, not to mention Joel Grey and Bernard Hughes as the feuding parents. Even the settings are wonderful, but at the end of the day, the magic of this show is created in a 300 seat theatre with 2 pianos and a harp...anything more is less.
To add insult to injury, someone obviously got cold feet about the song "Rape", and exchanged one of the show's highlights for a banal ditty. If you don't know "The Fantasticks", please don't watch this film, because it will make you hate the musical. If you know the musical, you might want to see it out of curiosity.