The Musical Theater Project to Host BEHIND THE MUSICAL: THE FANTASTICKS, 4/30-5/1

The Musical Theater Project (TMTP) will produce "Behind the Musical: The Fantasticks" for two performances on Saturday, April 30 (7pm) at Stocker Arts Center at Lorain County Community College, and Sunday, May 1 (3pm) at Regina Auditorium at Notre Dame College.

The popular "Behind the Musical" series was created by TMTP to explore the story of a beloved musical's creation. These multi-media concerts include archival footage, first-account interviews and live performances of all the beloved songs from the show. Previous musicals featured in this series include Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel, The Music Man and My Fair Lady.

"Behind the Musical: The Fantasticks" is co-hosted by TMTP's artistic director Bill Rudman and associate artistic director/music director Nancy Maier and features Shane Patrick O'Neill, Michelle Pauker and George Roth. Performing the songs of El Gallo (a role originated by Jerry Orbach) will be local favorite Fabio Polanco.

Hailed as "The world's longest running musical," the 56-year old classic by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt recently celebrated 20,000 performances off-Broadway. This concert will explore the show's rich history and includes the evergreen songs "Soon It's Gonna Rain" and "Try to Remember." And it gets Northeast Ohio audiences ready for Great Lakes Theater's full production of the musical in May.

Rudman says: "It's been called 'The Little Musical That Could,' and that's an understatement. It was experimental when it opened, by the mid-1960s had had become legendary, and it remains timeless in its appeal. In fact, for Nancy Maier and me, The Fantasticks is a perfect creation."

Stocker Arts Center is located at 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria on the campus of Lorain County Community College. Adult tickets are priced at $15. Student (age 18 and under) tickets are priced at $10. Tickets are available through the Stocker Arts Center Box Office at 440-366-4040 or www.StockerArtsCenter.com.

Notre Dame College is located at 4545 College Road in South Euclid. General tickets are priced at $25. TMTP Member tickets are priced at $20. Tickets are available through TMTP's Box Office at 216-245-8687 or www.MusicalTheaterProject.org.

"Behind the Musical: The Fantasticks" is presented as part of "The Song Is You!" concert and cabaret season produced each year by The Musical Theater Project at a variety of locations.