Amazing Grace: The True Story shows that a journey of faith can be extremely exciting (even harrowing) and yet still speak to the deep yearnings of the human heart. In this way, the musical is much more than the story of a hymn. It is the saga of a boy becoming a man, and the sort of man he will choose to be. Will he be a reflection of his peers or of his successful but absent father? Will he allow himself to fall in love with a young woman for whom faith is everything, even though he himself has fallen far from God? What of his innate talent of songwriting and persuasion? Will this be used to amuse the raucous residents of his boarding school or will he rediscover the simple yet powerful faith his deceased mother sought to bequeath him?

This mix of desire and uncertainty is intensified by a tempest of war, slavery and the unforgiving world of the 18th century Atlantic sea trade. John at various points will face battle on the high seas, be stranded on a tropical island, fall victim to malaria, become enslaved himself (one of the few white slaves recorded in equatorial Africa at the time) and eventually take on the role of an unforgiving slave master. Mary, the object of his affection back in England, is left to despair of ever seeing him again and cajoled into engagement to another (Christian and very eligible) young man. John meanwhile gives up hope and resigns himself to a godless life in the slave trade.

After being deceived into returning to England, John's ship will be engulfed by so violent a storm that he must physically tie himself to the ship to keep from being washed overboard. There, as he is lashed to a sinking ship, John must confront the lies he has told himself and the truth he is running from. John's decision will not only change his life, but the lives of millions. John Newton will become instrumental in turning the opinions of ordinary men and women against slavery. But what will become of John's love for the beautiful girl from Chatham? Surely she must have relented to her parent's pleas and married the wealthy, young suitor they have encouraged. The final scene reveals whether God's grace extends only to John's spiritual life or whether God will fulfill the other consuming desire of his heart.

Amazing Grace: The True Story speaks to audiences of all races, backgrounds and walks of life. The presentation is straightforward and compelling with much of the humor, turmoil and life-changing realizations supplied by the historical personalities themselves.

The musical treatment is contemporary classical in the vein of motion picture themes and the instrumentation is almost entirely orchestral with touches of Celtic slide-whistle and even West African traditional instruments.

The show is approximately two hours and thirty minutes long including a single intermission. Both the cast and orchestra sizes can vary according to the scale of the venue. Amazing Grace: The True Story is performed largely in a contemporary British dialect with smatterings of Irish and West African dialects.

Somewhat unusual for a contemporary musical, Amazing Grace: The True Story is an original work and is not encumbered by any claims of underlying rights. This is because Newton's autobiographical works were published in the 1700s and are in the Public Domain. Our concept is not based on any modern book, manuscript or any other work. In fact, of seventeen songs only two melodies were not written by the creative team, one of them being "Amazing Grace" itself. The business affairs of the production are handled by: Amazing Grace: The True Story, LP and the copyright is held by: C. G. Smith Literary Works #1, LLC.