After running Off-Broadway for 42 years and 17,162 performances, The Fantasticks is finally coming to Broadway. And it's been reimagined as something new.

This production reimagines the central romantic pair as Matt and Lewis, reinterpreting the story's allegory of love, longing, and reconciliation through a gay lens. The show's original pair of fathers, who secretly orchestrate the clandestine love affair between their children, will now be mothers. The new production features a revised book and lyrics by Tom Jones himself. Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli directs.

The musical premiered in 1960 with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, based on the 1894 play Les Romanesques. Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's metatheatrical fable opened Off Broadway in 1960 and went on to run for some 42 years. The adaptation was first presented in 2022 at Flint Repertory Theatre and continued its development at Provincetown Playhouse and Coachella Valley Repertory. Now it arrives at the Hayes, the smallest theater on Broadway, in a production that feels built for the intimacy the show has always required.

We'll meet for drinks and snacks nearby before the show, then settle in together. Field Trip events are intentionally small, so it's easy to actually meet people and have a real conversation.

Where are the seats?

The Hayes is the smallest Broadway theater, with 597 seats across two levels. Our seats will be in the mid mezzanine.

Do people usually come alone?

Yes, most people come solo. That is not the awkward exception here. It is more or less the entire premise.

How long does the event last?

We'll meet about an hour before the show for drinks. The show's runtime has not yet been posted.

Why this show?

After 66 years and a 42-year run as an Off Broadway institution, The Fantasticks will make its Broadway premiere this fall, marking the first time the legendary musical has ever played Broadway. The revised adaptation was first presented in 2022 at Flint Repertory Theatre and has subsequently been developed at Provincetown Playhouse and Coachella Valley Repertory. A 42-year downtown run, a queer reimagining completed by the original writer before his death, and a Broadway debut more than six decades in the making.