The Fantasticks is a 1960
musical with music by
Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by
Tom Jones. It tells an
allegorical story, loosely based on the play
The Romancers (
Les Romanesques) by
Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into falling in love by pretending to feud. The fathers hire traveling actors to stage a mock abduction, so that Matt can heroically seem to save Luisa, ending the supposed feud. When the children discover the deception, they reject the arranged love match and separate. Each then gains disillusioning experiences of the real world, seen in parallel fantasy sequences. They return to each other bruised but enlightened, and they renew their vows with more maturity.