Hoosier Musicals presents love story ‘The Fantasticks’

IU students’ stage and performance opportunities are expanding with Hoosier Musicals, a student-founded, nonprofit music and theater organization.

Its first musical performance is “The Fantasticks,” a story about young love and life decisions.

“The Fantasticks” will show at 7 p.m. today and Thursday and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Cinemat, 123 S. Walnut St., free of charge.

“This is a love story that makes the characters realize that the world is bigger and better than their backyard,” said freshman Amanda Sesler, co-director of philanthropy for Hoosier Musicals.

“The Fantasticks” tells the tale of always doing what we are told not to do, said junior Jonathan Lerner, executive director of Hoosier Musicals. It’s a story of a young girl and her next-door neighbor who fall in love only to realize it was their parents’ plan all along.

The show is timeless, which is proven through its success on and off Broadway, Lerner said.

The musical opened in 1960 and ran off Broadway until 2002. In 2004, “The Fantasticks” became a Broadway show. This long-running performance is about growing up and going through life’s hardships instead of letting them beat people down, Lerner said.

“People will go see it at numerous stages in their life, and each time they see it they will have a different perspective from it,” Lerner said.

Hoosier Musicals offers a more expansive venue for people who want to be part of the theater scene in college, Sesler said.

“We want to expand the community of musical theater so more people can get the opportunity outside of the theater school,” she said.

Members of the Hoosier Musicals executive board make up half the cast of “The Fantasticks” for its debut performance. All other productions will be a combination of IU music and theater students, those interested in the musical industry and one member of the executive board, Lerner said. This show will be designated as the directors’ showcase, offering members the opportunity to perform.

“We do this so students will know the opportunities that will be available instead of making announcements off the cusp and hoping people will show,” Lerner said.
Hoosier Musicals will announce its upcoming season, consisting of four to five shows, in the fall.

“We hope to give people the opportunity to do these shows they wouldn’t be able to find any other places, and expand and perform at different locations throughout the city,” said sophomore Taylor Maimbourg, administrative assistant for Hoosier Musicals.