Ben Toth and Sam Forman to Write Music for SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE Musical

Ben Toth and Sam Forman have been named the new composer and lyricist of Sleepless In Seattle – The Musical, it was announced today by producer David Shor. They join the previously announced Lonny Price as director, Jeff Arch as book writer, and Eric Stern as musical director. Sleepless In Seattle – The Musical will have its premiere at The Pasadena Playhouse in June, 2013.

“We are excited to have Ben and Sam, two exceptional writers with solid pasts, strong presents and amazing futures, join the Sleepless creative team, “ said director Lonny Price. “We've already begun work, and book writer Jeff Arch and I are thrilled to have them both as part of our creative team.”

Ben Toth just completed the score for writer-director Josh Radnor's “Liberal Arts,” a feature film starring Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, and Allison Janney. His theater music has been performed by Grammy/Tony winner Duncan Sheik, Tony winner John Lloyd Young, and Grammy nominee Jane Monheit. Ben has served as musical director/vocal coach/producer for some of the most popular actor/singers currently working on the stage, including Lea Michele and Idina Menzel of “Glee,” Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men,” Beau Bridges, Taye Diggs, and Mandy Patinkin, with whom he performed to critical acclaim at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End.

Sam Forman is the lyricist and co-book author for the musical I Sing! which has been produced commercially off-Broadway and in theaters around the world. Sam is currently on the writing staff of “House of Cards” (Netflix’s first original TV program starring Kevin Spacey, executive producer David Fincher).

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, will have its World Premiere at The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Charles Dillingham, Interim Executive Director) in June, 2013. Tickets are currently available by subscription only. Single ticket on sale date and prices will be announced at a later date.

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.