The cast of the classic Harvey Schmidt-Tom Jones musical will feature Thomas Bruce (Tom Jones) as Henry, Leo Burmester as Hucklebee, MacIntyre Dixon as Mortimer, Santino Fontana as Matt, Sara Jean Ford as Luisa, James Moye as El Gallo, Douglas Ullman, Jr. as The Mute and Martin Vidnovic as Bellomy. Directed by co-creator Jones, The Fantasticks will officially open Aug. 16.
The Fantasticks, according to press notes, "tells the story of a young boy and girl who fall madly in love at the hands of their meddling fathers, but soon grow restless and stray from one another. Will their separation provide a deeper appreciation for the love they once shared or create a permanent gulf between them?" Song titles include "Try to Remember," "Much More" and "I Can See It."
The coming-of-age fable is the world's longest-running musical, and played a record-breaking run of more than 17,000 performances in Greenwich Village. The Fantasticks originally opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in May 1960 and closed Jan. 13, 2002. The original company included Wedding Singer star Rita Gardner and the late Jerry Orbach. Harvey Schmidt wrote the music, and Tom Jones penned the book and lyrics. Word Baker directed the original Off-Broadway company.
Thomas Bruce (also known as Tom Jones) originated the role of Henry in the original production of The Fantasticks.
Leo Burmester has appeared on Broadway in Urban Cowboy, Les Misérables, Big River, The Civil War, Thou Shalt Not, Raggedy Ann, Buried Child and Ah, Wilderness! MacIntyre Dixon's Broadway credits include Gypsy, The Crucible, Getting and Spending, 1776, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Tempest, Beauty and the Beast, 3 Penny Opera, Broadway Bound, Alice in Wonderland, Once in a Lifetime, Over Here!, Twigs, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Paul Sills' Story Theatre, Cop-Out and Xmas in Las Vegas.
The Fantasticks will mark Santino Fontana's New York City debut. He recently appeared in the title role in the Guthrie's production of Hamlet and has also performed in productions of As You Like It, A Christmas Carol, Six Degrees of Separation, Death of a Salesman and Love's Labor's Lost.
Sara Jean Ford understudied the roles of Glinda and Nessarose in the Chicago production of Wicked.
James Moye has appeared on Broadway in The Full Monty and Urinetown as well as the national tour of Little Shop of Horrors.
Douglas Ullman, Jr. starred in the Asian tour of The Sound of Music and has also been seen in productions of Cabaret, Godspell, Grease and Ragtime.
A 1981 Tony nominee for his work in Brigadoon, Martin Vidnovic has appeared on Broadway in Home Sweet Homer, The King and I, Oklahoma!, Baby, Guys and Dolls, A Grand for Singing and King David.
The Fantasticks will play Mondays at 8:30 PM, Wednesdays at 2:30 PM, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:30 PM, Saturdays at 2:30 and 8:30 PM and Sundays at 3:30 and 7:30 PM. Tickets, priced at $75, are available by calling (212) 307-4100.
The Snapple Theater Center is located at 210 West 50th Street at Broadway.
