A new musical adaptation of August Rush is being developed for Broadway.
The adaptation of the 2007 Warner Bros. musical movie is holding a workshop in New York City on Dec. 11 and 12 with direction by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall. The story follows an orphaned 11-year-old musical prodigy who runs away to New York to find his parents, who are both former musicians, and begins performing on the street in his quest to locate them.
Richard Barton Lewis, who also produced the film, has been developing the stage show for several years, including in a production that made its world premiere in 2019 in Aurora, Ill. He has now brought on a new creative team and teamed up with Chunsoo Shin’s OD Company, the producer of The Great Gatsby on Broadway. The show is produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.
In addition to Marshall, the new creative team includes Nick Blaemire (Space Dogs), who wrote the book for the musical and contributed new songs to a score that also features songs from the film’s soundtrack by Mark Mancina, John Legend, Chris Trapper and Luke Reynolds. Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, If/Then), Van Hughes (Space Dogs) and Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry’s collaborator on “Teenage Dream” and “Roar”) also contributed new songs. Kitt will also be the music supervisor.
The workshop at Open Jar Studios in New York will include Christopher Riley (A Christmas Story) as August, Jeremy Kushnier (Footloose) as Wizard, Matthew James Thomas (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as Louis, Talia Suskauer (Wicked) as Lyla, Jeffrey Cornelius (Hadestown) as Arthur X, Ayvah Johnson (Tina – The Tina Turner Musical) as Hope and an ensemble that includes Pomme Koch (The Band’s Visit), Wade McCollum (Floyd Collins), Inés Nassara (Hair), Shea Renne (Hadestown), Heath Saunders (Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812) and Vishal Vaidya (Merrily We Roll Along).
The 2007 film starred Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Terrance Howard.