The Fantasticks Ended Its 42-year Run On January 13, 2002

A standing-room-only audience packed into the Sullivan Street Playhouse for performance number 17, 162, clearly enjoying the two-act musical from the opening number, “Try to Remember,” to the emotional curtain call.

“It’s only closing here, “Producer Tony Noto (the son of Lore Noto, the shows original produce) said. “It’s going to run for a hundred years, for a thousand years, elsewhere. The play is just closing as a New York institution, but it will live long after us.”

Tom Jones said that he felt no sadness at the final performance.

“So many good shows don’t run for three weeks,” he said. “You can’t be sad for a show that ran for so many years and so many people know and love.”