Staging “The Fantasticks” at Comtra Theatre starting Friday are, from left, Michael Goffus, Cody Sweet, Michael Garlowich, Aaron Cook, Raymond Sims, Matthew Gray, Natalie O'Neil and Jack Lefebvre.

CRANBERRY TWP — Comtra Theatre begins 2016 with “The Fantasticks” opening Friday and running through Feb. 13 at the theater on Route 19.

Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Comtra’s production is being directed by Barbara Burgess-Lefebvre.

“The Fantasticks” is the longest-running musical in the world because it is a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.

Featuring a memorable score of award-winning music, “The Fantasticks” is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, and their two fathers who are trying to keep them apart, or are they really?

The narrator, El Gallo, played by Comtra regular Raymond Sims, asks the audience members to use their imaginations and follow him into a world of moonlight and magic.

The boy, portrayed by Michael Garlowich, and the girl, portrayed by Natalie O’Neil, fall in love, grow apart, and find their way back to each other after finding the truth in El Gallo’s words that “without a hurt, the heart is hollow.”

Tickets are $15 and are available by visiting comtratheatre.com.