‘Fantasticks’ Lyricist Tom Jones Was Sanguine About the Musical’s Tangled History With Hollywood, Including a Near-Miss With Barbra Streisand
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “Try to Remember,” the most famous song to have come out of the stage musical “The Fantasticks,” was noted for its autumnal feel, sung by someone reflecting back on youthful days. The happy irony is that Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt wrote that song prior to the show’s original 1960 staging when they were both still relatively young men of about 30, fellows who still had about two-thirds of their lives ahead of them.