AMAZING GRACE Sets Fall Closing on Broadway; Will Take Its 'Sweet Sound' on Tour

BroadwayWorld has learned that Amazing Grace, the new musical playing at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street), will play its final performance on Sunday, October 25. On that date, the show will have played 24 preview performances and 114 regular performances. Good news, though -- a national tour of the production is being planned by Troika Entertainment, with more details to be announced.

Producer Carolyn Rossi Copeland said: "We are incredibly disappointed in the show's performance at the box office on Broadway. Our successful engagement in Chicago led us to make the decision to bring AMAZING GRACE to Broadway. The audiences who do come leave the theater uplifted, and we are honored to have introduced the important story of John Newton to the Broadway community. John Newton's story of redemption resulted in him being the first abolitionist in the British Empire. I look forward to bringing this story of hope and redemption to audiences around the country with our upcoming national tour."

AMAZING GRACE began previews on Thursday, June 25 and opened Thursday, July 16 at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street).

AMAZING GRACE features music and lyrics by Christopher Smith and a book by Christopher Smith and Arthur Giron, directed by Gabriel Barre (Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party) and choreographed by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies).

AMAZING GRACE features Tony Award nominee Josh Young, Erin Mackey, Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt, Chris Hoch, Stanley Bahorek, Harriett D. Foy, Laiona Michelle, Rachael Ferrera and Elizabeth Ward Land.

The ensemble features Leslie Becker, Sara Brophy, Rheaume Crenshaw, Miquel Edson, Mike Evariste, Sean Ewing, Savannah Frazier, Christopher Gurr, Allen Kendall, Michael Dean Morgan, Vince Oddo, Oneika Phillips, Clifton Samuels, Gavriel Savit, Dan Sharkey, Bret Shuford, Evan Alexander Smith, Uyoata Udi, Charles E. Wallace, Toni Elizabeth White, Hollie E. Wright.

Additional members of the creative team include Eugene Lee and Edward Pierce (scenic design), Toni-Leslie James (costume design), Ken Billington and Paul Miller (lighting design), Jon Weston (sound design), Robert -Charles Vallance (hair design), David Leong (fight and military movement), Gillian Lane-Plescia (dialect coach), Kenny Seymour (orchestrations), Michael Keller (music coordinator), Joseph Church (music director, arranger, incidental music), and McCorkle Casting LTD (casting).

AMAZING GRACE is a new original 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 -- or embracing the more compassionate views of his childhood sweetheart (Erin Mackey). Accompanied by his slave, Thomas (Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper), 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. 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.

AMAZING GRACE is produced by Carolyn Rossi Copeland and Alexander Rankin.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus