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View Winners → ‘The Fantasticks’ Comes to Pasadena Playhouse
Arts Sep 08, 2016
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Hal Linden- On stage at The Pasadena Playhouse. – Photo by Terry Miller
“The Fantasticks”
Production directed by Seema Sueko
By Terry Miller
The Pasadena Playhouse production of “The Fantasticks,” with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt is now playing . Directed by Seema Sueko, this production will literally knock your socks off.
On Thursday Pasadena Independent got a chance to speak with some of the cast members and star Hal Linden and author/lyricist Tom Jones.
Linden began his career as a big band musician and singer in the 1950s. After a stint in the United States Army, he began an acting career where he first worked in summer stock and off-Broadway productions. Linden found success on Broadway when he replaced Sydney Chaplin in the musical Bells Are Ringing. In 1971, he won a Best Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Mayer Rothschild in the musical The Rothschilds.
In 1974, he landed his best-known role as the title character in the television comedy series Barney Miller. The role earned him seven Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Award nominations. During the series’ run, Linden also hosted two educational series, Animals, Animals, Animals and FYI. He won two special Daytime Emmy Awards for the latter series. Linden won a third Daytime Emmy Award for a guest-starring role on CBS Schoolbreak Special in 1995. Linden has since continued his career on the stage, in films and guest-starring roles on television. He released his first album of pop and jazz standards, It’s Never Too Late, in 2011.
Tom Jones is perhaps best now for the above named play which ran off –Broadway from 1960 untill 2002 Jones acted in a New York City revival of The Fantasticks, which he also directed. He played the part of the Old Actor, which he played when the musical opened in 1960, from April 26, 2010 to June 6, 2010. He was credited as an actor in the show as Thomas Bruce. The show is still running at the Snapple Theater.
Jones is also the author of Making Musicals: An Informal Introduction to the World of Musical Theater,[3] about which Elyse Sommer wrote on January 15, 1998 in CurtainUp:
Here are some more photos of the wonderful cast:
The cast of eight features Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as El Gallo (Broadway’s Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story, NBC’s Grimm); Regi Davis as Bellomy (Nickelodeon’s Game Shakers); Conor Guzmán as Matt (The Cabrillo Music Theatre’s The Little Mermaid); Ashley Park as Luisa (Broadway’s The King and I); contemporary dance artist Alyse Rockett as The Mute, Amir Talai as Mortimer (Nickelodeon’s Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awsomeness); Gedde Watanabe as Hucklebee (Broadway’s Pacific Overtures, John Hughes’ Sixteen Candles); and Hal Linden as Henry, whose extensive credits include ABC’sBarney Miller, and a Best Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Mayer Rothschild in the Broadway musical The Rothschilds. The production is directed by Seema Sueko.
“The Fantasticks” originally opened on May 3, 1960, and played off-Broadway for 17,162 performances before closing on January 13, 2002, making it the longest running musical in history. Winner of a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre, “The Fantasticks” is a lyrical and romantic musical that tells an allegorical love story about a boy, a girl, two fathers and a wall. This beloved musical has been seen in over 67 countries and performed in locations ranging from The Peking Opera to The White House.
READ MORE: Pasadena Playhouse
ABOUT: “The Fantasticks” will play from now through Oct. 2. Tickets are available by calling The Pasadena Playhouse at (626) 356-7529, online 24 hours a day, or by visiting The Pasadena Playhouse Box Office at 39 South El Molino Ave., Pasadena.
