The Broadway musical, Amazing Grace, will bring its inspirational message of hope and redemption to Rudder Auditorium for one night only on Saturday, April 7, at 7:30pm. Tickets range from $19-$70 and are available at the MSC Box Office (979) 845-1234 and online at www.MSCOPAS.org. This new musical, based on the true story behind the world’s most beloved song, is a captivating tale of romance, rebellion, and redemption. Brimming with emotion and adventure, Amazing Grace is an unforgettable musical saga that captures the spirit of history’s sweetest and most powerful sound: freedom.
John Newton, 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 – or embracing the more compassionate views of his childhood sweetheart. Accompanied by his slave, Thomas, John embarks on a perilous voyage on the high seas. When that journey finds John in his darkest hour, a transformative moment of self-reckoning inspires a blazing anthem of hope that will finally guide him home.
Directed by Gabriel Barre, Amazing Grace is written by Christopher Smith (with book, music and lyrics and book) and Arthur Giron (book) and will feature the choreography of Christopher Gattelli, and music direction of Keith Levenson. It is produced by Alex Rankin/Continental Productions with artistic consultant Carolyn Rossi Copeland/CRC Productions.
The national tour will be the first production of the musical in North America since its pre-Broadway opening in Chicago and subsequent engagement on Broadway at The Nederlander Theater in 2015. Amazing Grace has been called “Sincere, stirring, and romantic. it brought tears to my eyes.”- Chicago Tribune; “The staging is superb, with moments of genuine astonishment. As spectacular as anything on Broadway, Amazing Grace tells the story of how the song came to be, and elicits widespread gasps & cheering from audience!” - The Washington Post; “A stirring musical. An epic romance. Artfully produced on the lavish scale of Les Mis.” - Chicago Sun-Times; “A musical of raw power with superb, intense performances.” - Variety; “Inspirational. Beautiful. Emotional. Exhilarating.” - AP; “Nothing Short of Amazing!” - ABC TV.
Cast includes: Jacob Shipley as John Newton (Regional: Pump Boys & Dinettes, A Funny Thing… Forum), Russell Rinker as Captain Newton (Blue Man Group – Las Vegas, NYC, Boston, Chicago, North American Tour, South Pacific) along with Don Seward as Thomas/Pakuteh (Film: Moonlight, Regional: Dreamgirls) and Newton’s childhood sweetheart, Mary Catlett, played by Eleanor Todd (NYMF: Beyond Words, Parade, Big Fish), they will join Monique Elinor Barnes (Regional: TreeMonisha), Kelli Blackwell (National Tour: Chicago), Ian Anthony Coleman (National Tours: Big Nate, A Few Good Men), Wyn Delano (Regional: Oklahoma), Shannan E. Johnson (National Tour: Ghost the Musical), Alex G. Kuntz (Regional: Next To Normal, Ragtime), Andrea Lee, Jennifer Lyons Pagnard (Regional: Parade, Floyd Collins), Joshua Simon (Regional: James and the Giant Peach), Gilgamesh Taggett (International Tour:Annie), James Tarrant (Regional: Grease, Annie Get Your Gun), Kanysha Williams (Regional: The WIZ), Jordan Campbell (Regional: Peter and the Starcatcher, Heathers, The Musical), Colleen Clancy (Regional: Sweet Charity),Nicki Elledge (Regional: A Little Night Music), Dion Montéz Jarrett (Regional: Ragtime, Showboat), Morgan Scott, Andrew Tarquinio (Regional: The Circle of Life: The Songs of Tim Rice).
Creative team includes: Kenny Seymour (Orchestrations), Edward Pierce & Eugene Lee (Set Design), Toni-Leslie James (Costume Design) Shannon Slaton (Sound Design), Ken Billington (Lighting Designer), Robert- Charles Vallance (Wig Designer), and David Leong (Fight and Movement).
GABRIEL BARRE (Director) is an internationally acclaimed director. Broadway: Amazing Grace. Off Broadway: MTC’s The Wild Party, Son of a Gun, Summer of ’42, Stars in Your Eyes, Honky-Tonk Highway, john & jen, and Almost, Maine. National Tours: Amazing Grace, Pippin, Cinderella. Regional: Memphis, North Shore Music Theatre, Theatreworks; Sweeney Todd, Finian’s Rainbow and many other new musicals at Goodspeed Opera House; and Kander & Ebb’s, All About Us at Westport Playhouse. International credits include the recent Mexican premiere of Billy Elliot, and the Japanese premiere of The Scarlet Pimpernel, along with numerous shows in Korea, China and the Czech Republic. As an actor, he has been nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical and appeared off Broadway last season in Cyrano de Bergerac, which he also directed.
CHRISTOPHER SMITH (Concept, Book, Music, and Lyrics) is one of the only writers to have contributed the concept and all three elements of a stage musical and made it to Broadway on the first attempt. His nonprofit www.lightsonbroadway.org works to: Equip a new generation of theatre professionals; Create shows that uplift and inspire and; Bless the wider entertainment culture. Chris thanks his wife Alana; children Joshua, Alana, and Alexandra; parents; investors; and, above all, God, who made this whole impossible dream a reality.
ARTHUR GIRON (Book) His 15 plays are performed in the U.S. and abroad. Among them, Emilie’s Voltaire played recently in America, Portugal and Australia. Alfred Molina and Jessica Chastain starred in L.A. Theatre Works’ Moving Bodies. The New York Times said A Dream of Wealth is “filled with passion and ample compassion”. The Metropolitan Opera Guild commissioned him to write a libretto. Arthur headed Graduate Playwriting at Carnegie Mellon University. He is a founder of Ensemble Studio Theater in New York, where he lives with his wife Mariluz.
CHRISTOPHER GATTELLI (Choreographer) was awarded the 2012 Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his choreography in Newsies. (As choreographer) Broadway: South Pacific (Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Casa Valentina, Sunday in the Park with George, Women on the Verge..., Godspell, The Ritz, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, 13, High Fidelity. Off Broadway: Dogfight (Lortel Award), Altar Boyz (Lortel Award, Callaway Award, Drama Desk Nom.), Bat Boy: The Musical (Lortel Award), tick, tick…BOOM! Chicago: Jungle Book – The Goodman.
For more about Amazing Grace, visit www.MSCOPAS.org.
