One Heart at a Time, a musical biography of African American inventor and anti-segragationist George Washington Carver, is slated to come to Broadway this fall.
The musical will feature a book by Mark St. Germain, lyrics by St. Germain and Thomas W. Jones, and music by Louis St. Louis. Jones will direct and Hope Clarke, who received a Tony nomination for choreographing
Jelly's Last Jam, will choreograph the show.
"More than a love story, more than a mere history play, this is the musical story of a man who began as a peanut farmer and inventor. He went on to cultivate the re-birth of a war-torn and cotton-focused South after the Civil War, into a productive part of the agricultural revolution amidst the rapid evolution of the black man in American society. This new musical is driven by passion and historical recognition, to illuminate a fascinating and deeply moving time in American history," according to press notes. Arlie Productions, in association with E. Palmer Productions, will present the show.
St. Germain is an alumnus of New Dramatists where he received the Joe A. Callaway Award, and was given the New Voices in American Theatre Award at the William Inge Theatre Festival in 2001. He has won the Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards for
Camping with Henry and Tom, and AT&T's New Plays For The Nineties Award for
Johnny Pye and the Fool Killer. Other credits include T
he God Committee (opening at The Lambs Theatre NYC in March 2006), and
The Collyer Brothers At Home, which will be produced by Barrington Stage Company in May 2006. Also, with Randy Courts, he has written the
musicals
Jack's Holiday (Playwrights Horizons) and
The Gifts of the Magi.St. Louis received a Grammy nomination as producer of the film soundtrack of
Grease, for which he also wrote "Sandy" for
John Travolta. He also produced the soundtrack for
Grease 2, writing 5 songs. He won an Emmy for his work as Music Director for "Lily/Sold Out." Broadway credits include
Grease (original production),
Over Here, Truckload, Raggedy Ann, Roza, and
Smokey Joe's Cafe. He has conducted/arranged for
Chita Rivera, Ann-Margaret,
Betty Buckley and other stars and composed the dance arrangements for
The Boy From Oz. His gospel concert adaptation of
Jesus Christ Superstar, which will world premiere at The Kennedy Center prior to a world-wide tour.
Jones, over the last 22 years, has directed, written, and performed in over 150 productions worldwide. In New York, he wrote and starred in the off-Broadway production of
The Wizard of Hip, which toured extensively, and was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award as Best Actor. As playwright and director of
Bessie's Skies, he won the Helen Hayes Award for Best Director and Best Musical, as well as nominations on the west coast. For
Spunk, he received the Best Director Award from the San Diego Critics Circle and the Drama-logue Award (west coast) for Best Play. He received three Audelco Awards for his direction of
Ziorr. Over the past eight years he has been nominated for 35 Helen Hayes Awards, winning 10.
