Simple Little Things: Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

This week in 92nd Street Y’s continuing series Lyrics and Lyricists: Preludes, they examine and perform the work of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. The program, Simple Little Things: Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt takes place at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST on Monday, October 9th.

Jones and Schmidt are the creative team behind the musicals I Do! I Do!, 110 in the Shade and their best-known musical The Fantasticks.

Performing their work in Simple Little Things will be Brandon Victor Dixon (TV’s Jesus Christ Superstar), soprano Katherine Henly (LA Opera’s Candide), Telly Leung (Aladdin), Kara Lindsay (Newsies The Musical), Zachary Piser (Dear Evan Hansen), Mariand Torres (In Transit) with Beth Malone (2018 revival of Angels in America) as narrator and Paul Masse on piano. He’s also the artistic director of the program.

No doubt their best known song will be included in this program which is “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks. The clip below shows original cast member Jerry Orbach performing the song from a concert in 1982.

The song is so popular it was been recorded well over 100 times. Amongst the artists who have sung it are The Temptations, Liza Minnelli, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Josh Groban and Roy Orbison. Even Jack Albertson sang it once on Chico and the Man.

Tickets for Simple Little Things: Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt are $15. The show will remain available for viewing through December 9th.

If you missed last week’s opening episode looking at the work of The Gershwins, that is still available for viewing through November 25th. That is also $15. There is a package offer for all five programs in this series for $60.

Photo: Off-Broadway’s The Fantasticks. (Photo Friedman-Abeles/Courtesy New York Public Library Archives)