Josh Young & Erin Mackey Talk AMAZING GRACE: 'He Was Lost, Now Is Found'

The leading man and leading lady discuss Amazing Grace!

Brand new biomusical Amazing Grace stars Josh Young and Erin Mackey and the headliners discuss the musical based on the life of reformed slave-trader and famed evangelist John Newton as part of a new interview with PIX 11, available here.

Young candidly shares of what initially drew him to the project and his early impressions of the material and the central character of John Newton, "I was like wow, this is the stuff that amazing musicals are made out of... He was a pretty terrible guy. He was one of the preeminent slave traders of the 18th century."

Elaborating, Young offers, "He once was lost, now is found, and in our show we show what that being lost actually meant and what being found actually meant."

Discussing the character of Newton's wife, portrayed in the show by Erin Mackey, Mackey posits, "She always believed in him... She always believed that he could be better and change his life and she never gave up on him."

Furthermore, Mackey reveals of the audience participation element of the production, with the audience joining in to sing the titular tune at the performance's close, "I think they just want to be part of a human, communal experience that is very tangible."

Young agrees, concluding, "They leave the show feeling changed and feeling enlightened."

The official description of Amazing Grace is as follows: "AMAZING GRACE is a world premiere musical based on the awe-inspiring true story behind the world's most beloved song. A captivating tale of romance, rebellion and redemption, this radiant production follows one man whose incredible journey ignited a historic wave of change. John Newton (Tony Award® nominee Josh 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. But when a perilous voyage on the high seas finds John in his darkest hour, a transformative moment of self-reckoning inspires a blazing anthem of hope that will finally guide him home. 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."

Josh Young appeared on Broadway in the most recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, for which he was nominated for a 2012 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor In A Musical, in addition to headlining the recent national tour of EVITA, in which he played Che, and the national tour of LES MISERABLES, as Marius. Additional credits include the Stratford Festival mountings of THE GRAPES OF WRATH, EVITA and KISS ME KATE.

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