Off-Broadway’s long-running musical The Fantasticks will welcome a new Luisa, Bellomy and Henry to the cast when Juliette Trafton, Bill Bateman and MacIntyre Dixon join the production at the Snapple Theater Center’s Jerry Orbach Theater. Trafton, who takes over for Kimberly Whalen, begins her run on June 28, while Bateman, replacing Steve Routman, starts June 21. Dixon, a veteran of the production, reprises the role of Henry beginning July 5, taking over for Scott Willis.
The Fantasticks tells the story of a boy and girl who fall in and out of love at the hands of their meddling fathers. The audience uses its imagination to follow the narrator, El Gallo, as he creates a world of moonlight and magic until the boy and girl find their way back to one other. The timeless score includes the hit songs “Try To Remember,” “They Were You” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain." Watts marks the 50th actor to take on the role off-Broadway since Jerry Orbach originated the part in 1960.
Trafton previously has appeared as Christine in that nation tour of The Phantom of the Opera and as Ariel in The Little Mermaid for Disney Cruise Lines. Regional credits include Jane Eyre and Guys and Dolls.
Bateman’s Broadway credits include the most recent revival of Gypsy, Hello Dolly!, Peter Pan and Bring Back Birdie. He has appeared in the national tours of Annie Get Your Gun, Woman of the Year, Annie, Pippin, Sugar and Irene.
A Broadway veteran, Dixon has been seen in Sly Fox, Beauty and the Beast, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 1776, Prelude to a Kiss, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Crucible, The Tempest and 3 Penny Opera. Off-Broadway includes Comic Potential, Arms and the Man, Room Service and Hamlet, among others. On the big screen, he has been seen in School of Rock, In & Out, A River Runs Through It, Funny Farm, Popeye and Reds.
The trio joins a cast featuring Edwards Watts, Erik Altemus, Tom Flagg, Gene Jones, Matt Leisy, Michael Nostrand and Evy Ortiz.