The Fantasticks is a Tony Award-winning musical by renowned lyricist Tom Jones and composer Harvey Schmidt. The show originally ran off-Broadway from May 3, 1960 until January 13, 2002, making it the longest-running musical in history. It was awarded the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1992.
Circle Theatre’s preview performances are Thursday, Sept. 22; Friday, Sept. 23; and Saturday, Sept. 24 (matinee). The production officially opens Saturday evening, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. and runs through Oct. 22.
Oct. 14 is “University Night” at Circle Theatre. Student tickets will be available for $5. Faculty and staff tickets are $10. “University Night” tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Advance reservations are strongly suggested. Use the code UNIV to qualify for this offer when buying tickets online. TCU student tickets are $10 for any performance. (reservations required). Go to http://www.circletheatre.com/ to make all arrangements, or call 817-877-3040.
Under the direction of Harry Parker, chair of the TCU Theatre Dept., The Fantasticks features TCU alumnus David Coffee and current students Anthony Fortino, Alison Hodgson and Sophie Smith.
Two TCU Theatre faculty members, Alan Shorter and Jennifer Engler, will serve as music director and choreographer, respectively. Brian Clinnin of the Theatre Dept. is the costume designer.
Rose Pearson, Circle Theatre’s executive director says, “It is a pleasure to reconnect with Theatre TCU to co-present our upcoming production of The Fantasticks. In the past we worked together on Bus Stop and Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Each experience as co-producers proves that combining our resources leads to both successful theater productions and an inspiring educational experience for everyone involved.”
Harry Parker, adds, “I’m delighted to be working on The Fantasticks, one of the most wonderful and enduring musicals of the American theater. It’s particularly appropriate for this project to be a co-production between Circle Theatre and TCU because it enables us to use some of the area’s finest veteran actors in the same company with talented young students. The result is mutually beneficial for everyone, including our audiences.”