Strongly positive reviews of the Ford's Theatre production of The Fantasticks, starring quick-change masters Joe Sears and Jaston Williams has lead to an extension of the Washington DC engagement. The production then will move to Casa Manana Theatre in Ft. Forth, TX.

Sears and Jaston, who played all the characters in Greater Tuna and A Tuna Christmas, opened March 16 and were scheduled to run through July 6. The production has been extended through July 28. The Casa Manana engagement will be Aug. 19 through Sept. 1, with stops in Galveston and Austin, TX also being contemplated, according to Dan Shaheen, who is working with Ford's to book the hit.

"Hopefully we will still book other cities in the future since it has been such a success critically and with audiences," Shaheen said. "Ongoing discussions continue..."

True to their multi-persona ways, the two actors will play double roles in the Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt musical. Jones rewrote parts of the show to adapt to their personas, adding a reprise of the song "Abduction" (which replaces "It Depends on What You Pay").

Sears, who was nominated for 1995 Tony Award in Tuna Christmas, will play Hucklebee (The Boy's Father) and Henry (The Old Actor). Williams plays Bellomy (The Girl's Father) and Mortimer (The Man Who Dies). Trivia note: Both Henry and Mortimer appear late in Act II as a pair of roving rogues, and address one another as Lodevigo and Socrates, respectively; this technically makes it three roles for each actor.

The rest of this Fantasticks is cast normally.

The director/choreographer for this new version is James J. Mellon.

For information: (202) 347-4833. For tickets: (703) 218-6500 or (800) 955-5566.