Broadway on Repeat

In the ongoing competition for most annoyingly catchy song, “Try to Remember,” from the Sixties-era Broadway production The Fantasticks, holds fast at number two. Retaining its lead by a wide margin is “American Pie,” the magnum opus of Don McLean, or as they call him on the state fair concert...

By P. Scott Cunningham

August 30, 2007

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In the ongoing competition for most annoyingly catchy song, “Try to Remember,” from the Sixties-era Broadway production The Fantasticks, holds fast at number two. Retaining its lead by a wide margin is “American Pie,” the magnum opus of Don McLean, or as they call him on the state fair concert circuit, “The Rain Maker.” The entire score of Grease holds position three, with the Beatles’ “Yesterday” at number four and “The Muppet Song” rounding out the top five. After that, it’s a steady diet of the B-52’s, Neil Diamond, and anything recorded by anyone who has not reached puberty.

Despite the fact that the first song will be in your head for the rest of the show, there’s a reason The Fantasticks holds the record as the world’s longest-running musical: It’s Romeo and Juliet without the downer ending. One fun thing to look for in the University of Miami’s production of the show at the Ring Theatre is whether it includes the original lyrics to “It Depends on What You Pay,” which uses the word rape in the antiquated definition (“abduction” or “theft,” as in, “Who raped my last doughnut?”) about a hundred times. The production begins tonight and runs through September 15. Showtimes are 8:00 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2:00. Tickets cost $18, with discounts for students and seniors. Call 305-284-3355 for tickets.
Sept. 5-15

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