Tom Jones, Lyricist and Librettist of Long-Running ‘The Fantasticks,’ Dies at 95
13.08.2023 - 00:21
/ variety.com
Michaela Zee Tom Jones, who wrote the book and lyrics for the longest-running musical “The Fantasticks,” died Friday at his home in Sharon, Conn. He was 95. Jones’ son Michael told The New York Times the cause was cancer.
Jones and the late composer Harvey Schmidt created the musical allegory “The Fantasticks,” which opened in 1960 in Greenwich Village and ran off-Broadway for a staggering 42 years. The musical is known for its opening song, “Try to Remember.” Jones was born in Littlefield, Texas, on Feb. 17, 1928.
He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he first met his longtime collaborator Schmidt. After serving in the Korean War, Jones moved to New York and began his theater career by writing for the revues being staged by the impresario Julius Monk. He also worked with composer John Donald Robb, with whom he developed “Joy Comes to Deadhorse,” a musical western loosely based on Edmond Rostand’s 1894 play “Les Romanesques.” The two had a falling out over creative differences, so Jones turned to Schmidt to continue working on the piece, which eventually evolved into “The Fantasticks.” In 1959, Jones and Schmidt presented a one-act, pared-down version of their show as “The Fantasticks” at a summer festival at Barnard College.
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