Erin Mackey, Tom Hewitt, Chuck Cooper & More Will Join Josh Young in World Premiere of AMAZING GRACE in Chicago this Fall

Broadway In Chicago has announced additional principal casting for the world premiere of AMAZING GRACE, the new musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Smith and a book by Christopher Smith and Arthur Giron, directed by Gabriel Barre (Andrew Lippas' The Wild Party) and choreographed by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies).

Joining previously announced Tony Award nominee Josh Young (Jesus Christ Superstar) will be Erin Mackey (NY Philharmonic's concert production of Sweeney Todd, Chaplin), Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Rocky Horror Show), Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper (Act One, The Life), Chris Hoch (Matilda, Far From Heaven), Stanley Bahorek (Nerds, Honeymoon in Vegas), Harriett D. Foy (Mamma Mia!), and Laiona Michelle (The Book of Mormon national tour).

AMAZING GRACE begins performances at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre (18 W Monroe) on Thursday, October 9 and opens on Sunday, October 19. The run is currently scheduled through Sunday, November 2.

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 (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.

AMAZING GRACE is produced by Carolyn Rossi Copeland and presented by Broadway In Chicago.

JOSH YOUNG (John Newton) Josh originated and currently stars in the role of "Che" in the first national tour of the Tony Nominated Broadway revival of Evita. He received a 2012 Tony Award nomination and Theatre World Award for his critically acclaimed Broadway debut as "Judas" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Des McAnuff. He appeared in two seasons at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival where his credits include: "Judas" in Jesus Christ Superstar, "Connie Rivers" in Grapes of Wrath, and "Che" in Evita directed by Gary Griffin, earning Broadway World Awards for each. Josh also appeared as "Marius" in the US National Tour of Les Miserables and "Tony" in the International Tour of West Side Story. Josh has performed in North America's finest regional theaters including La Jolla Playhouse, Walnut Street Theater, St. Louis MUNY, Baltimore Center Stage and North Carolina Theatre. He's been involved in new works with NYC's Roundabout Theatre Company, The Transport Group and The New York Musical Theater Festival. Josh is the co-founder of Cutting-Edge Composers (cuttingedgecomposers.com), a concert and weekly web series on broadwayworld.com, created to give exposure to musical theatre's next generation of songwriters. BFA Syracuse University. Tweet @joshpaulyoung.

ERIN MACKEY (Mary Catlett) was last seen on Broadway in Chaplin: The Musical as Oona O'Neill. Other Broadway credits include Anything Goes (Hope), Sondheim on Sondheim and Wicked (Glinda). She recently appeared at Lincoln Center in the NY Philharmonic's concert production of Sweeney Todd as Johanna, which will be broadcast on PBS later in 2014, and as Nellie Forbush in Paper Mill's South Pacific. Her regional and Off-Broadway credits include Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's production of Phantom (Christine), The Light in the Piazza (Clara) at South Coast Repertory and I Remember Mama (Katrin) at the York Theatre. Film and TV: Blue Bloods, Gossip Girl, Family Affair, Do Over and The Parent Trap. She has had the pleasure of performing with the Long Beach Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Pops and Florida Orchestra and can be heard on the original cast albums of Chaplin and Sondheim on Sondheim.

TOM HEWITT (Captain Newtown). Broadway: Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Dracula in Dracula: The Musical, Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), The Boys from Syracuse, Scar in The Lion King, School for Scandal, The Sisters Rosenzweig. National Tours: Urinetown, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Touring Broadway Award), Peter Pan. Off Broadway: Treasure Island, Jeffery, Beau Jest (Outer Critics nomination), Richard III, Othello. Recent Regional Credits: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (La Jolla Playhouse), Kiss Me, Kate (Reprise!, Muny), Flea in Her Ear (Williamstown), Private Lives and Travesties (Long Wharf, CT Critics Circle Award), Compleat Female Stage Beauty (Old Globe), Zhivago and Dracula: The Musical (LaJolla Playhouse), Uncle Vanya (Arena Stage), Racing Demon and Blithe Spirit (Guthrie), Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare Theater). Performances throughout Japan, Europe, and the U.S. with the Suzuki Company of Toga. TV and Film: "Law and Order," "Third Watch," "Frasier," "All My Children," narration for The Discovery, History and National Geographic channels and Julie Taymors' Fools' Fire. Training: PTTP currently at U. of Delaware. Tom is a native of Montana.

CHUCK COOPER (Thomas). Tony Award: Best Featured Actor for The Life. Other Broadway: Originated "Bus/Dryer" in Caroline Or Change, Act One, Finian's Rainbow, Lennon, Chicago, Passion, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Rumors, Amen Corner and Getting Away With Murder. National tour: The Tap Dance Kid, Eubie and Whistle Down The Wind. Off-Broadway: Caroline Or Change, Avenue X, Police Boys and Colored People's Time. Regional: Premiere of Dance Of The Holy Ghosts, Othello, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus and The Tempest. TV: "House of Cards," "Without a Trace," "Hack," "Law & Order," "100 Centre Street," "Law & Order SVU," "Paul Reiser TV Project," "Third Watch," "Oz," "Strangers with Candy," "NYPD Blue," "The Cosby Mysteries," "New York Undercover" and "I'll Fly Away." Film: American Gangster, Find Me Guilty, Boy Wonder, Downtown, Requiem For A Dream, Our Song, The Hurricane, The Opportunists, Gloria, The Peacemaker and The Juror. Favorite role: Eddie, Alex and Lilli's father. www.chuckcooper.net

CHRIS HOCH (Major Archibald Gray). Broadway: Matilda, La Cage aux Follies, Shrek, Spamalot, Dracula, Beauty and the Beast. National Tours: Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast. Off-Broadway: Far From Heaven, Die, Mommie, Die!, Face the Music (Encores!). Regional: Dracula, Zhivago, Palm Beach, Private Fittings (all La Jolla Playhouse); Far From Heaven (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Amazing Grace (Goodspeed); Next To Normal (Hangar Theatre); Spamalot (Muny); Kiss Me, Kate (Barrington Stage); Picasso at the Lapin Agile (City Theatre). Television: "30 Rock," "Guiding Light," "All My Children," "The Good Wife," "Gossip Girl." BFA: Carnegie-Mellon University

STANLEY BAHOREK (Robert Haweis). Broadway and Off-Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, February House (The Public), Queen Of The Mist (Transport Group), See Rock City (Transport Group), Inventing Avi (Abingdon Theatre), and The Explorers Club (Manhattan Theatre Club). Most recently he played Bill Gates in the new musical Nerds and appeared in the world premiere of Honeymoon In Vegas. Regionally he played Mozart in Amadeus (The Alley Theatre), Candide in Candide (The 5th Avenue), and has performed at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Goodspeed Opera House, Syracuse Stage, Music Theatre of Wichita, and Paper Mill Playhouse. He played Tom Sawyer in the national tour of DeafWest's Big River. A founding teaching artist with Broadway in South Africa, he currently teaches classes to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students for the Theatre Development Fund. He made his directing debut this year with the new play Act Normal (Senses Askew Company), and is a graduate of The University of Michigan. www.stanleybahorek.com

HARRIETT D. FOY (Princess Peyai). Broadway: Mamma Mia, The American Plan, Once on This Island. Off-Broadway: The Total Bent, On the Levee (AUDELCO nomination) and Crowns (AUDELCO Award). Regional: LMNOP and Amazing Grace (Goodspeed Chester); F2M (NYS &F Powerhouse Theater); The Women of Brewster Place and Polk County (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes nominations for both plays); After the War (ACT); Seven Guitars (Center Stage) and Ambassador Satch in Dubai. Film: Winter's Tale, In the Family. Television: "Hostages," "Orange is the New Black," "Unforgettable," "Law & Order" and "Rescue Me." Training: Howard University. WGATAP! harriettdfoy.com

LAIONA MICHELLE (Nanna). Recipient of a NAACP award. Nominated Best Lead Actress by the Helen Hayes 2005 Awards for Yellowman (Arena Stage). Nat'l Tour: Book of Mormon. World Premieres: Dan Dietz's Clementine in the Lower 9 and Robert O'Hara's Booty Candy. Additional Theatre: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Shakespeare Theatre Company and Goodspeed Opera House. TV and Film: "Law and Order" and "All My Children."

Photo by Walter McBride