The Fantasticks, Shout! on 9/17 Breakfast with the Arts

Two Off-Broadway musicals will be featured on the September 17th edition of "Breakfast with the Arts," which airs from 8 AM to 10 AM on A&E.  The show is hosted by Karina Huber.

Between 9:45 AM and 10 AM, cast members from the colorful '60s-set Shout! The Mod Musical will perform. 

The episode will also feature a performance by The Fantasticks' Burke Moses, who plays El Gallo, and Tom Jones, who both wrote the book and lyrics for the show and plays Henry (under the name of Thomas Bruce).  They will sing "Try to Remember."  Jones will also discuss the enduring musical.

Shout! The Mod Musical is co-created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein, with choreography by Lowenstein and direction by George.  The show, which opened on Thursday, July 27th at the Julia Miles Theatre,  features Marie-France Arcilla, Erin Crosby, Julie Dingman Evans, Erica Schroeder, and Denise Summerford.

"Shout! flips through the years like a musical magazine, tracking five young women as they come of age during the liberating days of the 1960s that made England swing.  It is a non-stop journey through the infectious and soulful pop anthems and ballads that made household names of stars like Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield and Lulu," according to notes.  It features songs lke "To Sir With Love," "Downtown," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," "Son of A Preacher Man," and "Goldfinger."

The Fantasticks opened at the Snapple Theater Center on Wednesday, August 23rd.  It is directed by Jones (based off the original direction by Word Baker), and features music by Harvey Schmidt as well as music and lyrics by Jones.  It also stars Martin Vidnovic, Leo Burmester, Santino Fontana, Sara Jean Ford, Robert R. Oliver and Douglas Ullman Jr.

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."

Visit www.aetv.com for more information.