NSU theatre students to perform worlds longest musical

Keri Parish
TNE Writer

NSUs theatre students are performing the returning hit, The Fantasticks. The play is the worlds
longest running musical.

It premiered in 1960 and ran off Broadway until 2002, said Dr. Robyn Pursley, theatre
coordinator. It closed for a brief four years and reopened in a different theatre in 2006.
The Fantasticks is a musical play about a boy and a girl who fall in love, grow apart and find
their way back to each other.
This show is not your average musical, said Hansen Johnson, Tahlequah junior. There are
many moments when the actors speak directly to the audience, rather than to the other actors.
The theme of this play is from the song, Try to Remember.
The song states, without a hurt, the heart is hollow, said Johnson. To me, that means that
experiencing life and its realities builds us humans as lovers, and family members, as well as just
members of society.
The cast members have been rehearsing four to six weeks prior to the opening night of the play.
It is written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, as well as directed by Dr. Robyn Pursley.
It is a great show and I am excited to have the opportunity to present it again at NSU, said
Pursley. It is a classic and wonderful for all ages.
The Fantasticks will be performed on Nov. 19 through Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the NSU
Playhouse. Tickets are $8 to the general public and free to NSU students.
For more information, email mageern@nsuok.edu.

Published 11/17/14