Maxim Chlumecky, Nathan Levy, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer & Ruthie Ann Miles Will Lead THE FANTASTICKS on Broadway

Second Stage Theater just announced complete casting for the upcoming Broadway premiere of THE FANTASTICKS, directed and  choreographed by Christopher Gattelli.  The company of THE FANTASTICKS will feature Maxim Chlumecky (Appropriate, Harry Potter and the Cursed  Child) as The Boy (Matt), Kevin Del Aguila (Some Like It Hot, Frozen) as The Man Who Dies (Mortimer), David  Patrick Kelly (Once, The Warriors) as The Old Actor (Henry), Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Spamalot, Beetlejuice) as Matt’s Mother (Mildred Hucklebee), Nathan Levy (& Juliet, Aladdin) as The Boy (Lewis), Ruthie Ann Miles (Sweeney Todd, The King and I) as Lewis’ Mother (Bessie Mae Bellomy), Zane Phillips (“The Comeback,” “Mid Century Modern,” Fire Island) as The Narrator (El Gallo), and Ahmad Simmons (Illinoise, Hadestown) as The  Mute. Mr. Phillips will be making his Broadway debut.  

THE FANTASTICKS will begin previews October 22nd and will officially open on Monday, November 16th at  Broadway’s Hayes Theater for a limited 15-week engagement. Discounts are available  for groups of ten or more. For more information on group booking, email groups@2st.com. 

It’s the longest-running musical of all time, but it’s never been on Broadway – until now. 

Two boys. Their two mothers. And a mischievous plan to make the young men fall in love. This is THE  FANTASTICKS, known and adored across the globe, in a Broadway premiere that brings glorious new life to the  beloved classic. With a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, this inspired  reinterpretation celebrates love, reconciliation, and the singular power of theater. Brilliantly reconceived by  Jones himself, it retains all the heart and humor that have made THE FANTASTICKS one of the most iconic  musicals of all time. Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (Schmigadoon!, Death Becomes Her, Newsies)  directs and choreographs.  

THE FANTASTICKS will feature scenic design by two-time Emmy Award-Winner Jason Sherwood, costume  design by two-time Tony Award-Winner Linda Cho, lighting design by 2026 Tony Award-Winner Jen Schriever,  sound design by two-time Tony Award-Winner Nevin Steinberg, music supervision and orchestrations by Sam  Davis, and music direction by Rick Hip-Flores. Casting by The Telsey Office. 

THE FANTASTICKS is produced in association with Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, Daryl Roth, and True North  Theatricals. 

ABOUT THE CAST 

Maxim Chlumecky (Matt) Broadway: Appropriate, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Off Broadway: A  Christmas Carol (PAC). Regional: Asolo Repertory Theatre, Bay Street Theatre. TV/Film: “Law and Order” (NBC), “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC), “Blue Bloods” (CBS), “Harlem” (Amazon Studios), “Billions” (Showtime). Training:  Pace University.  

Kevin Del Aguila (Mortimer) received a Tony nomination and Drama Desk Award for his performance as  Osgood in Some Like It Hot. Other Broadway credits include Frozen (Oaken), Peter and the Starcatcher (Smee), Yellow Face and Rocky. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors, Love’s Labour’s  Lost (Shakespeare in the Park), Jacques Brel, and God Bless You Mr. Rosewater (Encores!). TV/film: “Peg+Cat,”  “Law & Order: SVU,” “Deadbeat,” “Hazbin Hotel,” and Disney’s Frozen. Kevin is also an Emmy-winning TV writer,  celebrated lyricist, and book-writer of the musical Altar Boyz.  

David Patrick Kelly (Henry) has appeared in films by Walter Hill, David Lynch, Spike Lee, Wim Wenders and  Clint Eastwood. On stage he has appeared in plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Gogol, Euripides, Buchner,  Pirandello, Moliere, Brecht and Ibsen, directed by Richard Foreman, Nicholas Hytner and Karin Coonrod, Lear  Debessonet, Rachel Chavkin, Daniel Fish and Sam Gold. He was awarded an Obie for Sustained Excellence and  was featured/played mandolin in the Grammy and Tony-winning Once. 

Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Mildred Hucklebee). Broadway: Spamalot (Tony nom), Beetlejuice (Drama Desk  and Drama League Nom.), Celebrity Autobiography, Something Rotten!, Elf, Sondheim on Sondheim, Legally  Blonde, A Catered Affair, and Hairspray. Select theater: The Robber Bridegroom (Lortel Award, Drama League  nom.), and The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Television: She is known as Rosie on Amazon/A24’s hit  “Hazbin Hotel” (Imagen Award nom), “The First Lady,” “New Amsterdam,” “Vinyl,” and “The Marvelous Mrs.  Maisel” as Carol Burnett. She's also created several acclaimed solo shows. 

Nathan Levy (Lewis) was most recently seen as François in & Juliet on Broadway. Other Broadway: Aladdin (Omar), Once Upon a One More Time (Clumsy), Dear Evan Hansen (u/s Evan, Jared). National Tour: Aladdin, Dear  Evan Hansen. Regional: The Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation (Rusty, The Fifth Avenue Theatre), Peter Pan (Curly,  PCLO). BFA, Pace University. A Southern California native. 

Ruthie Ann Miles (Bessie Mae Bellomy) most recently appeared on Broadway in McNeal at Lincoln Center  Theater. Notable stage credits include Lady Thiang in The King and I (2015 Tony Award winner), Beggar Woman  in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023 Tony Award nomination), and Imelda Marcos in Here  Lies Love (2014 Lucille Lortel Award winner). On television, she is best known as Sherri Kansky on CBS’ “All Rise” and as Young-Hee Seong in FX’s “The Americans.” 

Zane Phillips (El Gallo) is an actor and singer from Fredericksburg, TX, now based in LA. National Tour: The  Sound of Music (Rolf). TV credits include: The final season of HBO’s “The Comeback” with Lisa Kudrow  (recurring); Netflix’s “Glamorous” (series regular); Apple TV’s “Loot” (recurring); “Good Trouble” (recurring);  “Mid-Century Modern” (recurring); “Legacies” (series regular); “Partner Track” (recurring). Film: Fire Island.  Regional theater credits include Hair (Claude), Mamma Mia (Sky), Hairspray (Link), and The Fantasticks (The  Boy). BFA, Elon University.

Ahmad Simmons (The Mute) is a NYC based performing artist, choreographer, creative director, and  independent producer across stage and screen. Broadway: Illinoise, Hadestown, West Side Story, Carousel, Cats.  Off-Broadway: Gotta Dance! (Stage 42), Only Gold (MCC), A Chorus Line (NYCC). TV/Film: Maestro, FX’s  “Fosse/Verdon,” “The Comeback,” Better Nate Than Ever, The Kennedy Center Honors, and multiple Tony  Awards. Concert Dance: Parsons Dance Company, River North Dance Chicago, and Detroit Metropolitan Dance.  Resident choreographer: Hamilton (Philip Tour). Associate Choreographer: Hadestown (2021). Proud graduate  of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. 

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM 

Tom Jones (Revised Book and Lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (Music) met at the University of Texas at Austin  where they wrote their first musical together, Time Staggers On. After coming to New York, they wrote The  Fantasticks for a summer theatre production at Barnard College. After its Off Broadway opening in May 1960, it  ran for an incredible 42 years becoming the longest running musical in the world and the longest-running  uninterrupted show of any kind in the history of the American theatre.  

Their first Broadway show, 110 in the Shade, was nominated for a Tony Award and was successfully revived by  the New York City Opera and later produced on Broadway starring Audra MacDonald. I Do! I Do!, their two character musical starring Mary Martin and Robert Preston, was also a success on Broadway and on tour.  

Additional collaborations include Celebration, which moved to Broadway; Philemon, which won an Outer Critics  Circle Award and was produced on Hollywood Television Theatre; Mirette, based on the award-winning  children’s book; The Show Goes On, a musical revue featuring their theatre songs and starring Jones and  Schmidt; and Roadside, based on a play by Lynn Riggs. They contributed incidental music and lyrics to the Off 

Broadway play Colette starring Zoe Caldwell, then developed a full-scale musical version starring Diana Rigg,  which was later revised under the title Colette Collage.  

In addition to an Obie Award and a special Tony Award for “Excellence in the Theatre” for The Fantasticks, Jones  and Schmidt were inducted into the Broadway Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theatre, and their “stars” were  added to the Off-Broadway Walk of Fame outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre. In 2012, they were inducted into  the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and in 2017, they received the Oscar Hammerstein Award. For more information  on their work together and separately, visit their extensive website: www.JonesandSchmidt.com. 

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