Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt Honorees
of the 2009 William Inge Theatre Festival
Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, two Texans who have fashioned American musical history, are the Honorees of the 28th annual William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, Kansas.
Jones and Schmidt—perhaps best known for "The Fantasticks," the longest running musical in history—will receive the Inge Festival's Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award from April 22-25, 2009. The Inge Festival is named for the late Pulitzer Prize ("Picnic") and Oscar-winning writer William Inge, a native of Independence, Kansas.
The award will be presented at the festival's Tribute finale, Sat. April 25. The Inge Festival is held at the William Inge Theatre at Independence Community College, located 90 miles north of Tulsa, Okla.
"Simplicity" is a supreme compliment that applies to Jones and Schmidt musicals. They broadened the scale of the Broadway musical with their engaging and innovative approach.
"This legendary writing team is bold and adventurous in their work; funny and touching, enormously romantic and sentimental without being cloying," said Inge Center Artistic Director Peter Ellenstein. "They have a long line of marvelous, innovative musicals, and I'm excited to have the public gain greater knowledge of the breadth of shows by these phenomenal talents."
The Jones and Schmidt style is bold: the musicals are characterized as "minimal," with small casts and modest sets, but are inspiring and audacious.
"The Fantasticks" exemplifies that simple yet limitless style. Inspired by an Edmond Rostand play, this love story of a young couple and their conniving parents opened in 1960 at an off-Broadway theater—and ran 42 years, counting 16,875 performances through nine presidencies. It has since been revived off-Broadway.
Jones and Schmidt followed with their first Broadway show, "110 in the Shade." This adaption of the N. Richard Nash story "The Rainmaker" is celebrated for a glorious score and was revived on Broadway in 2007, starring multiple Tony-Winner, Audra Macdonald.
Broadway was again their next stop in "I Do! I Do!" a two-character musical, starring Mary Martin and Robert Preston in an adaptation of the Jan de Hartog comedy "The Fourposter."
Jones and Schmidt also operated the Portfolio Studio, where they continued to experiment with small-scale musicals. Among their products is "Celebration," about the struggle to find humanity, which enjoyed a Broadway run. Their notable "Philemon," winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award, is an inspiring morality play set during the Roman Empire.
Jones and Schmidt have continued their collaboration in more recent years. "Collete Collage" is two one-act musicals based on the autobiography of the contentious Sidonie Colette, author of "Gigi."
There followed another adaption, this one of Thornton Wilder's American classic play, "Our Town." Jones and Schmidt crafted the musical version, titled "Grover's Corners." The project exerted a pull on Jones and Schmidt as "Our Town's" spare staging is readily adapted to their style.
The Caldecott Award-winning children's book "Mirette on the High Wire," by Emily Arnold McCully, served as inspiration for "Mirette." Set in Paris at the turn of the century, the musical opened in 1996 at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut.
Jones and Schmidt are prominent in front of the stage, as well. Jones played the role of the "Old Actor" in the original cast of "The Fantasticks." Over the decades Jones frequently appeared in the Off-Broadway show under a pseudonym—the audience often not knowing that one of the actors was also the librettist. Similarly, Schmidt, during many years of the run, was pianist.
In 1997, both further displayed their performances skills in "The Show Goes On," a revue based on their songs. And both appeared in the original production of "Grover's Corners."
Jones and Schmidt have earned numerous awards, including induction into the Broadway Hall of Fame, the ASCAP-Richard Rodgers Award, and a Special Tony.
The Honorees will be joined at the festival by actors and directors from New York and Hollywood throughout the four-day event. The guests will perform and also conduct public panels and workshops, a unique opportunity for the general public to directly learn from professionals in the field.
Since its founding in 1981, the Inge Festival has brought to Americaís heartland some of the world's most beloved playwrights. Past Inge Festival Honorees include Arthur Miller, August Wilson, Wendy Wasserstein, Stephen Sondheim, Neil Simon, and Edward Albee.
The Inge Center receives major support from the Kansas Arts Commission, the Hallmark Corporation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, Independence Community College and the William Inge Festival Foundation. It is sponsored by the William Inge Center for the Arts at Independence Community College. The Inge Center is a year-round producer of professional play development workshops and theater education.
Tickets for the Inge Festival are on sale online March 1, 2009. Information is available at www.ingefestival.org or by calling (800) 842-6063 ext. 5835.
Major supporters of the William Inge Center for the Arts include the Kansas Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, Hallmark Corporation, the William T. Kemper Foundation/Commerce Bancshares, the Dramatists Guild, the Dana Foundation, and many corporate and private foundations and hundreds of individuals across the country.