by Christin Siems, Dramaturgy Fellow
Tom Jones co-wrote The Fantasticks more than half a century ago with his friend Harvey Schmidt, and although he doesn’t travel around the country to see all of the thousands of Fantasticks productions, he came to Arena Stage last Wednesday to enjoy director Amanda Dehnert’s “abandoned amusement park” version.
Now, post-show discussions are always interesting. But a post-show discussion with the LIVING AUTHOR is… wow. So cool.
Tom came with his wife, and they were both so charming. Here’s a fun fact: Tom’s wife’s older sister originated the role of Luisa in the original one-act version at Barnard College before it opened Off-Broadway in 1960. I asked them how they met and… there you go.
The absolute highlight of the post-show was when a perspicacious high school student asked Tom: “Why does El Gallo say to keep the wall (that divided the two houses) up at the end?” Ah, a GREAT question. Tom said so himself.
It turns out that Tom hates the line.
El Gallo says: “Leave the wall. Remember—you must always leave the wall.” Tom told us that when he wrote it, he was really young, and he thought it sounded impressive. Well, a year or so later he heard it and thought: “This is BAD! It sounds like the point of the play!” And the point of the play, Tom told us, is “without a hurt, the heart is hollow.”
Tom wanted to take the line out, but his producer (who really liked the line) said he’d sue him. So the line remains… but Tom tried to fix it by writing in a stage direction that tells actor playing El Gallo to speak the line “casually.”
Tom also told us that when The Fantasticks received its first production in Russia soon after perestroika and 8 months after the Berlin Wall fell, the producers over there cautiously approached him: “eh, Tom… so about this line… ‘YOU MUST ALWAYS LEAVE THE WALL'... can we, uh… take it out?” And Tom, knowing full-well the cultural implications, told them: “Take it out! PLEASE!!!”
Another highlight was when Tom praised Laurence O’Dwyer for his portrayal of Henry, the old actor. Tom originated the role Off-Broadway under the pseudonym “Thomas Bruce,” and gave Laurence his highest compliment: “He was almost as good as I was.”
Tom also spoke freely about his inspiration for writing The Fantasticks, and all of the various artistic influences he and Harvey borrowed from. For example, did you know the Mute was inspired by the “Invisible Prop Man” character in Japanese popular theatre—a character who the audience agrees “not to see”? For other borrowed influences on The Fantasticks, go here.
Thank you, Tom, for a delightful post-show. I don't think any of us wanted it to end.
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