Tom Jones

TOM JONES

Along with composer Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones wrote THE FANTASTICKS for a summer theatre at Barnard College.  After its Off-Broadway opening in May 1960, it went 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 revived a year ago in a highly acclaimed production starring Audra MacDonald.  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 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 un-tried forms.  The most notable of these efforts were CELEBRATION, which moved to Broadway, and PHILEMON, which won an Outer Critics Circle Award.  Later works include COLETTE COLLAGE, THE SHOWS GOES ON, a musical revue featuring their songs and starring Jones and Schmidt, and MIRETTE, their musical based on the award-winning children’s book. In addition to an Obie Award and the 1992 Special Tony Award for THE FANTASTICKS, in 1999 Jones and Schmidt were inducted into the Broadway Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theatre and last April they were the recipients of the prestigious William Inge Award.

After the retirement of Mr. Schmidt in 2001, Tom Jones, along with the talented young composer, Joseph Thalken, wrote and produced a musical version of the cult film HAROLD & MAUDE.  At the moment, he is hard at work on LA TEMPESTA, based on the play by William Shakespeare and a famous production by the Picolo Teatro di Milano.

Biography as of February 2010