As previously reported, original Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark book writer is collaborating with Grammy Award-winning composer on the musical that is being developed with Warner Brothers along with Southpaw Entertainment (Richard Lewis, CEO) and CJ E&M (Byeong-seok Kim, Senior Vice President).
Mancina penned the orchestral score to the film that tells the story of an orphaned musical prodigy who ventures to New York in the hopes that his musical talents will help him find his birth parents.
The closed presentations will take place Dec. 9-10.
In addition to Doyle (Sweeney Todd, Company), the creative team includes choreographer Sam Pinkelton (Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), musical director (Here Lies Love, Spring Awakening) and orchestrator and musical arranger Dave Metzger (The Lion King).
The cast features Khusidman (Soul Doctor, Chaplin) as August Rush, (Once, Cinderella) as Louis, (First Date) as Lyla, Mann (Pippin) as Wizard, (Elf, Sweeney Todd) as Thomas, DeAndre Sevon (The Scottsboro Boys) as Arthur X, (Once) as Marshall, (Matilda) as Hope, Keating (The Boy from Oz) as Mrs. Gordon, Lisa Helmi Johanson (Avenue Q) as Lizzie, Gemignani (Violet, Sweeney Todd) as Richard Jeffries, and an ensemble including Brandon Ellie, , , Nathan Koci, Shaina Taub and Elisa Winter. Doyle is a Tony winner for his actor-musician staging of Sweeney Todd. He has also helmed Company, A Catered Affair and the recent Williamstown Theatre Festival staging of Kander and Ebb's The Visit.
According to the creators, "August Rush tells the hypnotic tale of a musically gifted orphan who runs away from his New York City foster home in search of his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of a street Maestro named Wizard (a role created on film by ), who discovers his musical genius, names him 'August Rush,' and devises a plan to profit from his talent. All the while, unbeknownst to August, his parents are searching for him too."
