Full casting has been announced for the Off-Broadway revival of the Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt musical The Fantasticks, which is set to begin to preview performances on Saturday, July 29 and to open officially on Wednesday, August 16 at the Snapple Theater Center (210 West 50th Street at Broadway).
The show will star Thomas Bruce 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. Co-creator Jones is directing the production.
Based on Les Romanesques by Edmond Rostand, The Fantasticks 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. The original Off-Broadway production of the show ran for more than 40 years at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, and there have been 11,103 productions in more than 3,000 cities and towns throughout the United States. Internationally, more than 700 productions have been staged in 68 countries. The Jones-Schmidt score for The Fantasticks includes such songs as “Try To Remember,” “Much More,” and “I Can See It.”
Thomas Bruce, a.k.a. Tom Jones, created the role of Henry in the original production of The Fantasticks. Leo Burmester was Thenardier in the original Broadway cast of Les Misérables; his other Broadway credits include Big River, The Civil War, and Thou Shalt Not. Macintyre Dixon has appeared on Broadway in such shows as Sly Fox, Gypsy, 1776, and Beauty and The Beast. Santino Fontana will make his New York theater debut in The Fantasticks, having just played the title role in the Guthrie Theater’s Hamlet. Sara Jean Ford was in the original Chicago company of Wicked, understudying the roles of Glinda and Nessarose.
James Moye has been seen on Broadway in The Full Monty and Urinetown, and he played the role of Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. in Little Shop off Horrors on tour. Douglas Ullman, Jr. recently returned to the U.S. after touring Asia as Rolf in The Sound of Music. Martin Vidnovic received a Tony Award nomination for his performance as Tommy in Brigadoon; his other Broadway credits include Baby and revivals of Oklahoma!, The King and I, and Guys and Dolls.