THE FANTASTICKS names full cast for first Broadway production

The complete eight-person company has been announced for the first Broadway production of THE FANTASTICKS, with Ruthie Ann Miles, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer and Zane Phillips among the cast heading to Second Stage’s Hayes Theater in New York. Previews are scheduled to begin on 22 October 2026, ahead of an opening night on 16 November reported by Broadway.com and New York Theatre Guide.

Maxim Chlumecky will play The Boy, Matt, opposite Nathan Levy as The Boy, Lewis. Kritzer has been cast as Matt’s mother, Mildred Hucklebee, while Miles will play Lewis’s mother, Bessie Mae Bellomy. Phillips takes the central role of The Narrator, El Gallo, with Kevin del Aguila as The Man Who Dies, Mortimer, David Patrick Kelly as The Old Actor, Henry, and Ahmad Simmons as The Mute. New York Theatre Guide reported the role assignments with the 25 August cast announcement.

The company brings together several performers with major awards recognition. Miles won a Tony Award for THE KING AND I, while Kritzer was Tony-nominated for SPAMALOT and del Aguila for SOME LIKE IT HOT. Phillips is scheduled to make his Broadway debut as El Gallo, following stage appearances in a national tour of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and a regional production of THE FANTASTICKS.

Among the actors playing the young lovers, Chlumecky has appeared on Broadway in APPROPRIATE and HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, while Levy‘s credits include & JULIET and ALADDIN. Simmons has previously appeared in ILLINOISE, HADESTOWN and WEST SIDE STORY.

This production reshapes the musical around two sons and their mothers. Its official synopsis follows the mothers as they devise a plan intended to bring the young men together and make them fall in love. Broadway.com reported that the production was publicly introduced earlier in 2026 as a contemporary same-sex reimagining.

The underlying musical retains book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt. For this production, Jones is also credited with revised book and lyrics. The available public material does not specify which passages or lyrics have changed, when the revisions were created or whether any songs have been altered or removed.

THE FANTASTICKS opened Off-Broadway in May 1960 and ran for 42 years before its original production ended in 2002. Despite that defining New York history, it has not previously played Broadway. Second Stage’s Season 48 production is therefore a Broadway premiere, not a return to Broadway, more than six decades after the musical first opened Off-Broadway.

That Broadway-premiere designation concerns the production’s history rather than its awards status. No Tony Awards eligibility classification has been announced, so the staging should not yet be described as a revival for awards purposes.

Christopher Gattelli will direct and choreograph the production. The design team comprises scenic designer Jason Sherwood, costume designer Linda Cho, lighting designer Jen Schriever and sound designer Nevin Steinberg. Sam Davis is music supervisor and orchestrator, with Rick Hip-Flores as music director.

Second Stage is presenting THE FANTASTICKS in association with Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, Daryl Roth and True North Theatricals. The production will play the Hayes Theater at 240 West 44th Street. Some secondary coverage uses the venue’s former name, the Helen Hayes Theater, but Hayes Theater is the current official name.

The Broadway production has been disclosed in stages. Its reimagined premise was announced earlier in 2026, followed by ticket sales and creative-team information. Broadway.com reported tickets on sale by 7 July, before the full company and role assignments followed on 25 August. Online tickets are available, while in-person sales for THE FANTASTICKS at the Hayes Theater box office are scheduled to begin on 6 October.

For Australian audiences, the New York venue should not be confused with Hayes Theatre Co in Sydney. AussieTheatre covered an unrelated Australian production of THE FANTASTICKS at Hayes Theatre Co in January 2016, with associated rehearsal and review material also appearing in the archive. The Sydney and New York productions are separate, and no Australian plans have been announced for the forthcoming Broadway staging.

New York Theatre Guide describes the Broadway run as a 15-week limited engagement. Second Stage’s official calendar currently displays performances through 7 February 2027, although the production page does not identify that date as the closing performance. It should therefore be treated as the last date presently displayed rather than a formally announced closing night.