York's HAROLD AND MAUDE Begins Performances Tonight

York Theatre Company, celebrating the legendary librettist and lyricist Tom Jones with Musicals in Mufti: The Tom Jones Festival, presents the third musical in the spring series: the New York Premiere of Harold and Maude, with Book & Lyrics by Tom Jones and Music by Joseph Thalken (Was, Songs from an Unmade Bed), based on the screenplay by Colin Higgins.

The limited engagement plays 5 performances only April 13-15 at The York Theatre at Saint Peter’s (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Directed by Carl Andress, the cast features original Harold and Maude cast members Donna Lynne Champlin (Billy Elliot) and Donna English (Lend Me a Tenor) with Matt Dengler (A Little Night Music) as Harold, Cass Morgan (Memphis) as Maude and Steve Routman (Le Bete). The musical adaptation of the 1971 cult-classic film Harold and Maude comes to life on the York stage in a new version by Jones and Thalken. In what's being described as "the quintessential May-December romance, death obsessed teenager, Harold, meets Maude, 79, at a funeral and thus begins one of the most unusual, yet truly touching romantic sagas in American pop-culture history."

Harold and Maude, featuring Estelle Parsons in the title role, received its world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse in 2005. The performance schedule for Harold and Maude is: Fridays at 8:00 p.m., *Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and *Sundays at 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. (*Talkbacks follow all matinee performances). Tickets are priced at $39.50 and are available online at www.yorktheatre.org, by calling (212) 935-5820, or in person at the box office at the York Theatre at Saint Peter’s (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue), Monday through Friday (12:00 -6:00 p.m.).

Musicals in Mufti: The Tom Jones Festival will continue with Colette Collage (April 27-29), and conclude with The Game of Love (May 11-13). Casting for both shows will be announced shortly. York’s acclaimed Musicals in Mufti Series of musical theatre gems in staged concert performances has presented over 80 shows from the past in simply-staged concert format. Mufti means: “in street clothes,” without the trappings associated with the original productions. Musicals in Mufti: The Tom Jones Festival launched the spring series with The Show Goes On, a portfolio of theater songs by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, directed by Pamela Hunt, and featured Tom Jones, Graham Rowat, Stephanie Umoh and Susan Watson. The second musical in the series was Roadside, with Book & Lyrics by Tom Jones and Music by Harvey Schmidt, direction by David Glenn Armstrong and featured original Roadside cast member Ryan Alexander, Erick Devine, Janine DiVita, Jamie LaVerdiere, Daniel C. Levine, Ed Watts and Nick Wyman.