re: #242 Walter L. Newton

The stage musical “The Fantasticks,” which was the longest running musical in the history of theatre, which opened in New York in 1960 and ran 42 years at the same theatre, has a song called “The Rape Song.”

In the dialog intro to the song, the classical sense of the word is discussed, the latin origins, from the word “rapier” in the archaic sense of an abduction or kidnapping. And the song is about abducting a young woman.

Just an example of another (and basically accepted) use of the word… FYI.

When my high school performed “The Fantasticks” in 1967, the song “It Depends on What You Pay” was included as written, although we heard about other schools that had to use an alternate version of this song.

I missed my chance to play Louisa. When the alternate for Matt (a boy about 5’3” tall) was playing the role, I was the only girl who knew the part, who was shorter than he was. But I came down with bronchitis and totally lost my voice.