Sweet Sound of Amazing Grace Will be Heard on Broadway; Josh Young-Led New Tuner Sets Dates & Theater

If it was ever lost, it's now found...it's home on Broadway. Amazing Grace, which ran in Chicago in fall 2014, will begin performances at the Nederlander Theatre on June 25. Josh Young, Erin Mackey, Tony winner Chuck Cooper and more will reprise their roles in the tuner. The musical, featuring music and lyrics by Christopher Smith and a book by Smith and Arthur Giron, will be directed by Gabriel Barre and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. Opening night is set for July 16.

Young made his Broadway debut in the revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, for which he received a Tony nomination; other stage credits include Che in the national tour of Evita. Mackey most recently appeared on the Great White Way in Chaplin; her additional credits include Anything Goes, Sondheim on Sondheim and Wicked. Cooper, whose Broadway credits include Act One, Romeo and Juliet, Finian’s Rainbow and Caroline, or Change, took home a Tony for The Life. He will soon be seen in Little Shop of Horrors at Encores! Off-Center.

Also reprising their roles will be Chris Hoch (Matilda, Far From Heaven), Stanley Bahorek (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Big River), Harriett D. Foy (Mamma Mia!, Crowns), Laiona Michelle (The Book of Mormon national tour), Rachael Ferrera (Broadway debut) and Elizabeth Ward Land (Scandalous, The Green Heart). Additional casting for the 33-member company will be announced in the coming weeks.

Amazing Grace is based on the true story behind the beloved song. A tale of romance, rebellion and redemption, the show follows one man whose incredible journey ignited a historic wave of change that gave birth to the abolitionist movement. John Newton (Young), a willful and musically talented young Englishman, faces a future as uncertain as the turning tide. Coming of age as Britain sits atop an international empire of slavery, he finds himself torn between following in the footsteps of his father—a slave trader—and embracing the more compassionate views of his childhood sweetheart (Mackey).

The production will feature scenic design by Eugene Lee and Edward Pierce, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Ken Billington and Paul Miller, sound design by Jon Weston and fight and military movement by David Leong.