Tom Jones (writer)

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Tom Jones (born in 1928 in Littlefield, Texas) is a lyricist (and often librettist) of musical theatre. His best known work is The Fantasticks, which ran off-Broadway from 1960 until 2002, and the hit song from the same, Try to Remember. He also wrote the screenplay for the 2000 feature film adaptation.

Jones is currently acting in a New York City revival of The Fantasticks which he also directed. He plays the part of the Old Actor, which he played when the musical opened in 1960. He is credited as an actor in the show as Thomas Bruce.^[1]

Jones is also the author of Making Musicals: An Informal Introduction to the World of Musical Theater^[2], about which Elyse Sommer wrote on January 15, 1998 in CurtainUp, that Jones' book is:

Extremely well organized and packed with interesting information, the first half of the book deals in broad and general terms with the growth and development of the American musical. The second half focuses on the practical "how-to" of putting together a musical, using Jones' own career and shows he's worked on as a springboard...Since only half the book falls within the category of how-to I'm glad to report that this advice is stick-to-the-ribs solid. No hyperbole. No gratuitous name dropping.^[3]

All of Jones' major musicals were written with Harvey Schmidt, whom he met at the University of Texas at Austin.

[edit] Theatre credits

• Shoestring '57 (contributor) (1957)
• Demi-Dozen (contributor) (1958)
• The Fantasticks (1960)
• 110 in the Shade (book by N. Richard Nash, based on his play The Rainmaker) (1963)
• I Do! I Do! (based on The Fourposter by Jan de Hartog) (1966)
• Celebration (1969)
• Colette (1970)
• Philemon (1973)
• Grover's Corners (based on Our Town) (1987)
• Mirette (book by Elizabeth Diggs, based on the children's book Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully) (1996)
• Harold and Maude (2004; music by Joseph Thalken, based on the film)
• Roadside (book by Jones, based on the play of the same name by Lynn Riggs, with music by Harvey Schmidt.)
• The Game of Love (music by Offenbach with arrangements and additional music by Nancy Ford, based on the Anatol plays by Arthur Schnitzler).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tom Jones at the Internet Broadway Database
• Tom Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Jones Downstage Center XM radio interview at American Theatre Wing, September 2006