Theater veteran Robert R. Oliver will step into the role of Mortimer in the new production of The Fantasticks for six-weeks, as MacIntyre Dixon recuperates from a torn achilles tendon.
The Fantasticks, the world's longest-running musical, will still begin preview performances on Saturday July 29, 2006 and open on Wednesday August 16, 2006 at New York's brand new Snapple Theater Center (210 West 50th Street at Broadway).
The Fantasticks will also star Thomas Bruce (
The Fantasticks at the Sullivan Street Playhouse) as Henry, Leo Burmester (
Les Miserables, Big River) as Hucklebee,
Santino Fontana (Guthrie Theatre's Hamlet) as Matt, Sara Jean Ford (Glinda/Nessarose understudy in
Chicago Wicked) as Luisa, James Moye (
The Full Monty, Urinetown) as El Gallo, Douglas Ullman, Jr. (Asian
Sound of Music tour) as The Mute and
Martin Vidnovic (
Baby, Oklahoma!, Brigadoon) as Bellomy.
This beloved musical love story features music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. Jones will also direct The Fantasticks, which was originally directed by Word Baker. The new production will be produced by Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel and Thomas Viertel.
"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. Will their separation provide a deeper appreciation for the love they once shared or create a permanent gulf between them? The musical is the quintessential celebration of love, in all its gorgeous simplicity and heartbreaking complexities," according to press notes. It features such classic tunes as "Try To Remember," "Much More," and "I Can See It."
The show originally opened at New York's Sullivan Street Playhouse on May 3, 1960 and played 17,162 performances before closing January 13, 2002, making it the world's longest running musical. Audiences have enjoyed 11,103 productions of the show in over 3,000 cities and towns throughout the United States. Internationally, more than 700 productions have been staged in 68 nations from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and beyond.
Oliver is a veteran of Off-Broadway and has appeared in its two longest-running hits -
Tony n' Tina's Wedding and
The Fantasticks (which he also taped for Lincoln Center Archives). With more than 70 productions to his credit, he has performed on radio, television, film, cruise ships, dinner theaters, tours, etc. Some of his favorite roles are Pete in
Girl Crazy (with
Lorna Luft), Hysterium in
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (for which he received a Carbonell Award Honorable Mention), and Doolittle in
My Fair Lady, among others
The playing schedule is as follows: Monday at 8:30pm, Wednesday at 2:30pm, Thursday and Friday at 8:30pm, Saturday at 2:30pm and 8:30pm and Sunday at 3:30pm and 7:30pm. There will be no Wednesday matinee on August 16. Tickets are $75, and can be purchased through
Ticketmaster.com at (212) 307-4100. For more information, visit
www.fantasticksonstage.com.
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