A veteran of the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid and High Fidelity, Morgan will succeed current Fantasticks star Margaret Anne Florence as Luisa. Florence plays her final performance Dec. 17. Morgan previously performed the role in the Off-Broadway revival for a brief engagement in 2007.
Morgan's stage credits also include the Lincoln Center Theater production of Bernarda Alba, the national tour of Mamma Mia!, as well as regional appearances in Memphis, The Light in the Piazza and Of Mice and Men.
Morgan joins a cast that includes "Amazing Race" winner Nick Spangler as the Boy and Lewis Cleale as El Gallo with Tom Flagg, Gene Jones, Michael Nostrand, Jordan Nichols, Evy Ortiz, Richard Roland, Steve Routman and John Thomas Waite.
Janet Watson serves as choreographer for the production with musical direction by Robert Felstein.
The Fantasticks resumed performances Off-Broadway at the Snapple Theater Center's Jerry Orbach Theater June 16. The musical began a winter hiatus Feb. 24, following 27 previews and 628 regular performances at the Orbach Theater. The Fantasticks, according to press notes "is a captivating and simple love story about a boy, a girl, two fathers and a wall. The audience uses its imagination to follow El Gallo as he creates a world of moonlight and magic, and then pain and disillusionment, until the boy and girl find their way back to one other." Songs from the popular musical include "Try to Remember," "They Were You," "Much More," "Soon It's Gonna Rain" and "I Can See It."
The Fantasticks is the world's longest-running musical, having played a record-breaking run of more than 17,000 performances in Greenwich Village. The Fantasticks originally opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in May 1960 and closed Jan. 13, 2002. The original company included Wedding Singer star Rita Gardner and the late Jerry Orbach. Harvey Schmidt wrote the music, and Tom Jones penned the book and lyrics. Word Baker directed the original Off-Broadway company.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com or by calling (212) 307-4100. The Snapple Theater Center is located at 210 West 50th Street at Broadway.
