Tom Jones (born February 17, 1928) is an American lyricist and librettist, best known for '' The Fantasticks'', '' 110 in the Shade'', and '' I Do! I Do!''. He was born in

Littlefield, Texas Littlefield is a city in and the county seat of Lamb County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,372 at the 2010 census. It is located in a significant cotton-growing region, northwest of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado just south of ...

Career

Jones' best-known work is '' The Fantasticks'', which ran off-Broadway from 1960 until 2002, and the hit song from the same, "

Try to Remember "Try to Remember" is a song about nostalgia from the musical comedy play ''The Fantasticks'' (1960). It is the first song performed in the show, encouraging the audience to imagine what the sparse set suggests. The words were written by the Amer ...

". Other songs from ''The Fantasticks'' include "

Soon It's Gonna Rain "Soon It's Gonna Rain" is a song from the musical comedy ''The Fantasticks'', with lyrics written by Tom Jones, and music composed by Harvey Schmidt. Background The song was first sung by Rita Gardner and Kenneth Nelson in the original Off Broadway ...

", "Much More", and "I Can See It". He also wrote the screenplay for the 1995 feature-film adaptation. Jones acted in a New York City revival of ''The Fantasticks'', which he also directed. He played the part of the Old Actor, from when the musical opened in 1960, and from April 26, 2010, to June 6, 2010. He was credited as an actor in the show as Thomas Bruce. Jones is also the author of ''Making Musicals: An Informal Introduction to the World of Musical Theater'', about which Elyse Sommer wrote on January 15, 1998 in ''CurtainUp'':

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's 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."Making Musicals", review by Elyse Sommer, January 15, 1998, ''CurtainUp''

All of Jones's major musicals were written with

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, '' The Fantasticks'', which ran of ...

, whom he met at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Theater credits

* ''Shoestring '57'' (contributor) (1957) * ''Demi-Dozen'' (contributor) (1958) * '' The Fantasticks'' (1960

* '' 110 in the Shade'' (book by

N. Richard Nash Nathan Richard Nusbaum (June 8, 1913 – December 11, 2000), known as N. Richard Nash, was an American writer and dramatist best known for writing Broadway shows, including '' The Rainmaker''. Early life Nash was born Nathan Richard Nusbau ...

, 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 ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...

'') (1987) * ''Mirette'' (book by Elizabeth Diggs, based on the children's book ''

Mirette on the High Wire ''Mirette on the High Wire'' is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. Published in 1992, the book tells the story of Mirette, a French girl who learns to walk on the tightrope. McCully won the 1993 Caldecott M ...

'' by Emily Arnold McCully) (1996) * '' Roadside'' (book by Jones, based on the 1929 play of the same name by Lynn Riggs, with music by

) (2001 off-Broadway (York Theatre)) * ''Harold and Maude'' (2004; music by Joseph Thalken, based on the film) * '' The Game of Love'' (music by Offenbach with arrangements and additional music by Nancy Ford, based on the '' Anatol'' plays by

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...

References

External links

* * *
archive

Tom Jones
Downstage Center XM radio interview at

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

, September 2006
''Philemon''
at The Guide to Musical Theatre

at The Guide to Musical Theatre {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Tom 1928 births Living people American musical theatre librettists American musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists University of Texas at Austin alumni People from Littlefield, Texas Writers from Texas Songwriters from Texas