THE FANTASTICKS Film's John Davidson to Play 'Henry' Off-Broadway in June

John Davidson, who starred as Matt in the 1964 HallMark Hall of Fame version of The Fantasticks, will join the cast of the Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks for a limited engagement in the role of Henry, The Old Actor.

Davidson will join the cast on June 1, 2012 for 19 performances through June 16. The Fantasticks currently stars triple platinum recording artist Aaron Carter in the role of Matt.

Davidson’s Broadway credits include Able Frake in State Fair and Bert Lahr's son in Foxy. He received the Theater Guild Award for his portrayal of Curly in the New York City Center's revival of Oklahoma. Off-Broadway credits include High Infidelity with Morgan Fairchild. Regionally he starred as Harold Hill in The Music Man, Abner in L'il Abner, Starbuck in 110 In The Shade, King Arthur and Lancelot in Camelot, Billy in Carousel, I Do! I Do!, Will in Will Rogers Follies, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Charlie Anderson in Shenandoah, Cervantes in Man Of La Mancha and Teddy Roosevelt in the one-man-play Bully.

A television mainstay for four decades, Davidson was the host of That's Incredible, The New Hollywood Squares, One Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid, The Tonight Show, The John Davidson Daytime Talk Show, The Kraft Sumer Music Hall and various prime time specials and beauty pageants. He also played Sally Field's husband in the television series The Girl With Something Extra.

Davidson’s film credits include the Walt Disney musicals The Happiest Millionaire and The One And Only Genuine Original Family Band, Airport 80, Edward Scissorhands and The Squeeze. He is the author of the educational book The Art Of The Singing Entertainer and his autobiographical play The Boy Who Loved His Father. He has recorded 13 albums and performed in main showrooms at Caesar's Palace, the Las Vegas Hilton, The Aladdin Hotel and Casino, The MGM Grand and the Desert Inn. Davidson attended Denison University where he spent three summer seasons with the Denison Summer Theater graduating with a BA in theater arts.

A modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks (music by Harvey Schmidt, book/lyrics/direction by Tom Jones) is thequintessential story of a boyfriend and girlfriend who quickly grow apart when they realize they want to experience the world.  What follows is a hilarious and heartwarming story appropriate for all ages.  The score, which includes the hit songs “Try To Remember”, “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and “They Were You”, is as timeless as the story itself.  Having run for 42 years in its original production atthe Sullivan Street Playhouse, The Fantasticks is the world’s longest-running musical.

The cast of The Fantasticks features triple platinum recording artist Aaron Carter, Edward Watts (Broadway’s Finian’s Rainbow),Bill Bateman (Broadway’s Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, Hello, Dolly!), Tom Flagg (Broadway’s Will Rogers Follies, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Oklahoma!), Heidi Giberson (national tours of Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, Cats),Matt Leisy (St. Louis Rep’s The History Boys, A Christmas Carol at Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Michael Nostrand (A&E’s Emmy Award-winning Peter Pan, national tours of Jelly’s Last Jam, The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Dan Sharkey (Broadway’s TheMusic Man, Show Boat), Juliette Trafton (Christine in the national tour of Phantom of the Opera) and Charles West (Broadway’s TheScarlet Pimpernel, Show Boat, Cyrano the Musical).