John Davidson to Return to THE FANTASTICKS Cast, 7/30

John Davidson, the celebrated television, theater and film actor who starred as Matt in the 1964 HallMark Hall of Fame version of THE FANTASTICKS and recently performed for a limited engagement in the Off-Broadway production as Henry, The Old Actor, will return to the cast on July 30 in that same role.

Davidson will remain with the production for five weeks through September 2. The Fantasticks currently stars triple platinum recording artist Aaron Carter in the role of Matt.

Tickets to The Fantasticks are priced at $50 - $75 and can be purchased by calling the box office at (212) 921-7862, by logging onto Ticketmaster.com, or by visiting the Snapple Theater Center box office at 210 West 50th Street at Broadway. A limited number of premium front row seats are available for each performance priced at $126.50.

Davidson’s Broadway credits include Able Frake in State Fair and Bert Lahr's son in Foxy. He received the Theater Guild Award for his portrayal of Curly in the New York City Center's revival of Oklahoma. Off-Broadway credits include High Infidelity with Morgan Fairchild. Regionally he starred as Harold Hill in The Music Man, Abner in L'il Abner, Starbuck in 110 In The Shade, King Arthur and Lancelot in Camelot, Billy in Carousel, I Do! I Do!, Will in Will Rogers Follies, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Charlie Anderson in Shenandoah, Cervantes in Man Of La Mancha and Teddy Roosevelt in the one-man-play Bully.

A television mainstay for four decades, Davidson was the host of That's Incredible, The New Hollywood Squares, One Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid, The Tonight Show, The John Davidson Daytime Talk Show, The Kraft Sumer Music Hall and various prime time specials and beauty pageants. He also played Sally Field's husband in the television series The Girl With Something Extra.

Davidson’s film credits include the Walt Disney musicals The Happiest Millionaire and The One And Only Genuine Original Family Band, Airport 80, Edward Scissorhands and The Squeeze. He is the author of the educational book The Art Of The Singing Entertainer and his autobiographical play The Boy Who Loved His Father. He has recorded 13 albums and performed in main showrooms at Caesar's Palace, the Las Vegas Hilton, The Aladdin Hotel and Casino, The MGM Grand and the Desert Inn. Davidson attended Denison University where he spent three summer seasons with the Denison Summer Theater graduating with a BA in theater arts.

A modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks (music by Harvey Schmidt, book/lyrics/direction by Tom Jones) is the quintessential story of a boyfriend and girlfriend who quickly grow apart when they realize they want to experience the world. What follows is a hilarious and heartwarming story appropriate for all ages. The score, which includes the hit songs “Try To Remember”, “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and “They Were You”, is as timeless as the story itself. Having run for 42 years in its original production at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, The Fantasticks is the world’s longest-running musical.

The cast of The Fantasticks features triple platinum recording artist Aaron Carter, Jeremiah James (Carousel in the West End), Bill Bateman (Broadway’s Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, Hello, Dolly!), Tom Flagg (Broadway’s Will Rogers Follies, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Oklahoma!), Jeremy Greenbaum (Preface at The York Theatre), Matt Leisy (St. Louis Rep’s The History Boys, A Christmas Carol at Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Addi McDaniel (Little House on the Prairie at The Guthrie), Michael Nostrand (A&E’s Emmy Award-winning Peter Pan, national tours of Jelly’s Last Jam, The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Dan Sharkey (Broadway’s The Music Man, Show Boat), Juliette Trafton (Christine in the national tour of Phantom of the Opera) and Scott Willis (Broadway’s Annie, State Fair, Crazy For You).