The Fantasticks Returns to New York; Previews Begin July 28

Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel and Thomas Viertel announced today that they will present a new production of THE FANTASTICKS, the world's longest running musical, beginning preview performances on Friday, July 28, 2006 and opening on Thursday, August 17 at New York's brand new Snapple Theater Center (210 West 50th Street at Broadway). 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 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 FANTASTICKS is the quintessential celebration of love, in all its gorgeous simplicity and heartbreaking complexities, and features such classic tunes as "Try To Remember," "Much More," and "I Can See It."

"It just doesn't seem like New York's theater world is complete without THE FANTASTICKS, and we're thrilled to have the opportunity restore it to its rightful place," producer Steven Baruch said.

THE FANTASTICKS 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 FANTASTICKS 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.

Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel and Thomas Viertel have produced 60 shows throughout the world over 20 years-from Driving Miss Daisy, Penn & Teller and Love Letters in the '80s to Smokey Joes's Café, Angels in America and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in the '90s to The Producers, Hairspray and Sweeney Todd now on Broadway. They will be represented on Broadway this fall by John Doyle's new production of Stephen Sondheim's Company.

The playing schedule for THE FANTASTICKS will be 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. Tickets will be $75, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com at (212) 307-4100.

BIOGRAPHIES

Tom Jones (Book, Lyrics, Director) and HARVEY SCHMIDT (Music) wrote The Fantasticks in 1959 for a summer theatre at Barnard College. When it closed its record breaking forty-two year run at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York, it had gone on to become the longest running production in the history of the American stage and one of the most frequently produced musicals in the world. Their first Broadway show, 110 in the Shade, was nominated for a Tony Award and was successfully revived by the New York City Opera. I Do! I Do!, their two character musical starring Mary Martin and Robert Preston, was a success on Broadway and is frequently done around the done around the country and the world. (One production, in Minneapolis, played for twenty-two continuous years with the same two actors in the leading roles.) For several years Jones and Schmidt worked privately at their theatre workshop, concentrating on small-scale musicals in new and often untried forms. The most notable of these efforts were Celebration, which moved to Broadway, and Philemon, which won an Outer Critics Circle Award. In addition to directing both Celebration (both the workshop and on Broadway) and Philemon, Mr. Jones has directed multiple productions of The Fantasticks, including the 30th Anniversary U.S. Tour starring Robert Goulet. They contributed incidental music and lyrics to the Off-Broadway play Colette, starring Zoe Caldwell, then later did a full-scale musical version under the title Collette Collage. In 1998, The Show Goes On, a musical revue featuring their theatre songs and starring Jones and Schmidt, was presented at the York Theatre to great acclaim, and Mirette, their musical based on the award-winning children's book, was premiered at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. And in 2001, their western musical, Roadside, was given its premiere at the York Theatre in New York. In addition to an Obie Award and the 1992 Special Tony Award for The Fantasticks, Jones and Schmidt are the recipients of the prestigious ASCAP-Richard Rodgers Award. In February of 1999, their "stars" were added to the Off-Broadway Walk of Fame outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

STEVEN BARUCH, MARC ROUTH, RICHARD FRANKEL and THOMAS VIERTEL (Producers) have produced and general managed a wide range of plays and musicals on and off Broadway, in London and on tour for the past 20 years. Currently: Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors and Stomp. Previous productions include The Sound of Music, Swing, Smokey Joe's Café, The Weir, A Funny Thing…, Angels in America, Driving Miss Daisy, Penn & Teller, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Oleanna, Mnemonic, The Cocktail Hour, Love Letters, Marvin's Room, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Forever Tango, Damn Yankees, Jeffrey, Song of Singapore, Later Life and others. Their shows have been awarded 31 Tonys, 27 Drama Desk Awards, 20 Outer Critics Awards, four Grammys and two Pulitzer Prizes and have been featured in The New York Times crossword puzzle 9 times. They will be represented on Broadway this fall by John Doyle's new production of Stephen Sondheim's Company.

ABOUT THE SNAPPLE THEATER CENTER

The Snapple Theater Center is Snapple's first branded entertainment center. With two theaters that will house Off-Broadway shows, the Snapple Theater Center is part of Snapple's ongoing commitment to enriching the lives of New York residents and the thousands of visitors who flock to New York City each year. The Snapple Theater Center will be home to two Off-Broadway shows: New York City's long-running play, Perfect Crime, now playing in the 4th floor theater, and the world's longest running musical, The Fantasticks. Together, the two theaters provide total seating for up to 398 people.