Lonny Price to Direct SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE Musical, Premiering June 2013 at Pasadena Playhouse

Lonny-Price-20010101

Lonny Price has been named the director of Sleepless In Seattle – The Musical, it was announced today by producer David Shor.

"I am thrilled that such a prestigious Broadway director as Lonny Price has fallen in love with Sleepless and he will help bring this beloved story to theatergoers worldwide," said Shor. "The benefits of his presence as the artistic leader have already made themselves apparent as we continue to develop the show."

"I have been looking for a true love story to direct for the musical stage for a long time," said Price. "Needless to say, when Sleepless In Seattle – The Musical, one of the most beloved screen romances of all time was offered to me, I jumped at the opportunity. We hope to transform this much-loved film into something as unique as a musical."

Eric Stern (Xanadu, The Music Man, Follies) has been named the musical director of Sleepless. A new team of lyricists and composers will be announced shortly.

Sleepless has a book by Jeff Arch, who penned the film's original story and co-wrote the screenplay, sharing 1994 Oscar, BAFTA and WGA nominations with Nora Ephron and David Ward.

Sleepless, is currently scheduled to have its World Premiere at The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Charles Dillingham, Interim Executive Director) in June, 2013.

Sleepless centers around Sam, a widower and single father. When Sam's son, Jonah calls into a talk radio program looking for a new mother, Sam ends up getting on the phone and laments about his lost love. Thousands of miles away in Baltimore, Annie hears the program and immediately falls in love with Sam, despite the fact that she has never met him and that she is engaged to another man. Believing they are meant to be together, Annie sets out for Seattle to meet Sam, who, meanwhile, contends with an onslaught of letters from available women equally touched by his phone call.

The American Film Institute (AFI) lists Sleepless in Seattle among the Top 10 best romantic comedies of all time and the film grossed over 227 million dollars worldwide. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four MTV Movie Awards, one Writers Guild of America Award, and won an American Comedy Award and a Casting Society of America Award. Sleepless In Seattle is based on the 1957 film "An Affair To Remember" starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.