The Fantasticks Nine U.S. presidents have come and gone since Tom Jones (book and lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (music) created this simple little off-Broadway musical, which opened in 1960. The critics were unkind to The Fantasticks, an intimate anti-musical with play-acting dramatics, minimum production values, no stars, an orchestra of piano and harp, no chorus line, a ton of whimsy and fey poetry, and a story that boiled down to a proto-hippie mantra: Without a hurt, the heart is hollow. The producer was so disappointed that he wanted to close the show after the first week, but he kept it open. It would go on to play for 42 years. A revival opened in NYC last month. This musical refuses to go away. While its best numbers are now considered standards ("Soon It's Gonna Rain" and "Try to Remember"), the entire score is a lot livelier than the second-rate book or pseudo-sentimental lyrics. It's sweet and gooey with faux simplicity that grates on the brain, but the show gets a lot more interesting in Act II when the young protagonists, so crazy in love in the first act, discover disillusionment and seek worldly pleasures on their own in the big bad world. With a picturesque, high-gloss production set in a traveling circus, Texas Repertory Theatre Co. makes this treacle palatable and immensely watchable. The overall design is reason enough to see it, as is the ace direction by Craig A. Miller, but the real attraction is the dandy ensemble cast who give their all, pretending this schlock is on a par with Oklahoma or Gypsy. Now that's acting. Through September 30. 14243 Stuebner Airline, 281-583-7573.