(Photo © Michael Portantiere)
Burke Moses has replaced James Moye as El Gallo in the new Off-Broadway production of the Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt musical The Fantasticks, now in previews at the Snapple Theatre Center and scheduled to open officially on Wednesday, August 16. Moses will begin performances in the show on Friday, August 4.
According to a statement from the producers, “The director [Tom Jones] identified the need to move the role in a different artistic direction. Moye agreed, believing that this decision best serves the artistic needs of the show and himself.”
Moses was the original Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, and he also played the role in London and Los Angeles. His other Broadway credits include Petruchio in Kiss Me, Kate, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, and Herakles in Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs. Additionally, he has appeared in several Encores! productions, and he sang the role of Joey in The Most Happy Fella at New York City Opera in 1991.
The cast of The Fantasticks also includes Thomas Bruce (a.k.a. Tom Jones) as Henry, Leo Burmester as Hucklebee, Robert R. Oliver as Mortimer (temporarily subbing for a recuperating MacIntyre Dixon), Santino Fontana as Matt, Sara Jean Ford as Luisa, Douglas Ullman, Jr. as the Mute, and Martin Vidnovic as Bellomy.
