"Gary Mauer, who has performed the role of "The Phantom" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera both on Broadway and on the National Tour, will join the cast of Amazing Grace: The True Story for the upcoming recording project and staged readings. Joining him will be his wife and Phantom co-star, Elizabeth Southard. Gary is perhaps best known as the actor who has played the romantic lead "Raoul" in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway more than any other actor (1,500 performances). He also starred as "Enjolras" in several Broadway companies of Les Miserables and has toured in Harold Prince's Show boat and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Elizabeth is a star of both the Broadway and National Touring productions of The Phantom of the Opera, where she played the role of "Christine." She was later chosen by Harold Prince to star as "Magnolia" in the National Tour of Show Boat, and played opposite Marie Osmond in the National Tour of The Sound of Music.

Gary and Elizabeth will perform alongside Adam Jacobs ("Marius" in Les Miserables on Broadway), Laurie Gayle Stephenson ("Christine" in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway), David Felty (Broadway's The Civil War and "Jean Valjean" in the National Tour of Les Miserables), Ali Ewoldt ("Cosette" in Broadway's Les Miserables), Eddie Brandt ("Little Jake" in the Broadway revival cast of Annie Get Your Gun and "Gavroche" in the National Tour of Les Miserables), and Jennifer Felty (Veteran of the Grand Ole Opry and regional star in Smoke on the Mountain, My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Pirates and Pinafores).

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2007
Amazing Grace: The True Story

"I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I hope to be. But by the grace of God, I am certainly not what I was."

The life story behind these words of John Newton is being told in a new musical in development by Christopher Smith. I spent Monday afternoon and evening in Bucks County, PA, attending rehearsals and a concert/reading of this show, “Amazing Grace: The True Story,” and was immensely impressed by the work and richly blessed by the experience of the day.

What a beautiful place Bucks County is, and what loving, welcoming people at Hilltown Baptist Church who hosted the event. Chris had told me the community had been tremendously supportive of him and his effort and, boy, did it show -- in the church people who volunteered and the 1,225 people who turned out, overflowing into two side rooms with video setups.

I had ridden out in the morning on the train with Adam Jacobs and Ali Ewoldt (Marius and Cosette in "Les Miz") who were playing Newton and Mary Catlett, the love of his life. We were met at the station in Trenton by Rich Timmons, a sweetheart of a person if there ever was one. In the hour’s drive out to Hillside he told us much about the area and pointed out things of interest. Now I know why I’ve always heard that Bucks County is so scenic. It is. It was a nice treat for a New Yorker to get a lovely ride in the country with such a knowledgeable tour guide.

The afternoon of rehearsals was interesting, getting to watch the behind-the-scenes process. Rich's wife, Julie, made sure we were well fed at lunch and dinner. I enjoyed getting to know the other cast members, especially April Woodall who played Mrs. Catlett, Mary’s mother. She has a gorgeous voice that closed the concert on a soaring note to the heavens.

One of the biggest treat’s of the day was meeting Karen Burgman whom I had done a telephone interview with for her beautiful CD "The Impulse of His Love" (posted Sept. 5). What a warm, loving, joyful young woman. Karen was the pianist for the event and also wrote some of the music. Hearing her play in person was a gift. In addition to the eight soloists, she accompanied a 60-member choir made up of high school students from the Central Bucks High School and West Choirs under the direction of Dr. Joseph Ohrt.

The concert/reading of 11 songs was moving and leaves me with no doubt that Chris has a viable musical in the making. And why not, with a story with so much drama -- the death of a mother at a young age and exile to boarding school, the troubled relationship between father and son, romance, slavery, storm at sea and the dramatic conversion into profound faith. It's epic, and Chris has captured it all, which actually is a story in itself. A former documentary video producer and police officer, he is completely self-taught and still can't read music; he composes by ear. But over nine years he has followed his passion and his call and brought the work this far. He thoroughly researched Newton’s life and the history and culture of his time, creating the book, music and lyrics for the show. His next step is to record a concept CD early next year in Prague or London, where costs are a third to half what they are in New York. He will then work on mounting productions outside Manhattan, possibly in Branson, MO, or Lancaster, PA. Then, if his dream comes true, and I believe it will -- Broadway!

The audience response was overwhelmingly positive, but the most touching comment came from a woman who told Adam she had been diagnosed with cancer that day and that the performance had given her great comfort and strength. That’s what a good faith story can do, and that's why a show like this needs to be out there in the world. As Rich pointed out at the start of the concert, "It's a true story that’s been waiting 230 years to be told."

Please pray for this musical and all those involved. If you can, send a contribution or tell a producer.

POSTED BY RETTA BLANEY

Thank you to everyone who made our concert in Hilltown, Pennsylvania such a success. 1,225 people came to hear Adam Jacobs (currently "Marius" in Les Miserables on Broadway), Ali Ewoldt (“Cosette” in Les Miserables, also on Broadway), David Felty (Broadway veteran and formerly "Jean Valjean" in the National Tour of Les Miserables) and a supporting cast of Broadway veterans, regional actors and local performers from right here in Bucks County, PA. The main seating area was nearly full after the doors had been opened for 15 minutes and in the next 45 minutes both overflow areas filled and it was standing room only. The crowd response was overwhelming and the survey cards that were gathered gave us insight into how the show was touching the people of all ages who attended. After the event the audience met the cast and creative team and told stories of how the story and characters spoke to issues they have faced or are facing in their lives. Click here to view a PDF of the evening's program

Amazing Grace: The True Story composer and playwright Christopher Smith was interviewed on the American Family Radio Network "Today's Issues" program at 11:00AM Eastern / 10:00AM Central time on Monday, October 22nd. You can listen to the interview by clicking the link below.

American Family Radio interview: 10-22-07

Over fifty theatre and music professionals, members of the press and invited guests attended the first staged reading of Amazing Grace: The True Story inside the Empire State Building in Manhattan on July 20th, 2007. The development cast included current and former Broadway Stars, among them: Adam Jacobs (currently playing "Marius" in Les Miserables on Broadway), David Felty (Les Miserables National Tour as "Valjean" and The Civil War on Broadway), Roger Seyer (who has appeared in Broadway productions of Miss Saigon and Les Miserables), Chip Leonard (currently playing "The Bishop" in Les Miserables on Broadway), Eddie Brandt (from the Broadway cast of Annie Get Your Gun and the national tour of Les Miserables), Becky Barta (who has appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables and in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and played the title role in the off-Broadway production of Always, Patsy Cline), Jennifer Felty (is an accomplished instrumentalist; she has performed at the Grand Ole Opry; her vocal talents have been featured in regional productions of Smoke on the Mountain, My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Pirates and Pinafores).

>"Our choices in assembling the development cast were about raising the bar in the area of quality. We wanted to hear from professionals who have been extremely successful in all levels of musical theatre from Broadway to National Tours to regional and non-profit productions. We held the sessions in New York primarily to make it convenient for them. The show is designed to reach a wide audience, but we certainly don't intend to storm into New York and say "Accept us!" We are all aware that our production will have to prove itself in a regional setting before taking on the Big Apple. After a successful out-of-town tryout it will be far easier to show producers the potential impact of a production in places like NYC." -Christopher Smith, Author

Staged Readings are performed without costumes, props or scenery. This means that our characters, songs and dialogue must stand on their own without the violent storms, pitched battles or visual and audio special effects which our commercial production will feature.

Those in attendance reported that they were quite unprepared for the depth and poetic nature of the piece. Audience comments showed that they thoroughly enjoyed the melodies and could remember and often hum the major ones after only one hearing. They fully understood the conflicts and developments in the plot and found the dialogue and lyrics engaging. Audience members also formed emotional connections to the major characters (very important to the Creative Team).

What many guests did not expect was that in addition to addressing Newton's spiritual dilemma, the show faces many other issues head-on including: Can an absent father ever recover a relationship with a son whom he has neglected? How should a believing young woman deal with her feelings toward a wayward man? Does outwardly improving ones morals lead you closer to a relationship with God or fool you into thinking you can make it on your own? Also represented are profound and universal mysteries such as: Why do good people die? Does suffering have a point? Is anyone beyond salvation?

Those in attendance overwhelmingly stated that they believed this show would be a powerful force for bringing a positive Christian message to the commercial theatre industry and that this is long overdue. Further, author Christopher Smith made the attendees aware of his commitment to dedicate a portion of the income from every ticket, CD or memorabilia to the liberation of actual slaves in bondage in Africa today (even in the same countries Newton visited). There are several organizations which, in addition to seeking to end slavery politically, secretly buy enslaved men, women and children and repatriate them to safe areas, often at great personal risk to the rescuers.

>Now that the reading is complete the search has begun in earnest for a theatrical producer, venue (theater) owner and/or record producer who will respect the focus and mission of the piece and who will dedicate the time and money to do it justice.

Making audio or video recordings of the reading or it's rehearsals is forbidden by Actors' Equity Association rules, but we have a few video clips of an early song familiarization session with Adam Jacobs HERE.

Students were involved in all of the development sessions leading up to the reading and played ensemble parts during the reading itself. Someday, following the initial commercial run, Amazing Grace: The True Story will be adapted for college and high school productions so student input is desireable at the outset.

Megan Marcaurelle played the part of Mary Catlett. The other students involved were:
Cody Jones
Cory Jones
Pete Hedberg
Sam Wagner
Nick Weindel
Mike Seidel
Chris Vella
Cecilia Houser
Claire Houser
Elyse Mendelson
Maura Mendelson
Meghan McCabe