MTI ANNOUNCES LEAP OF FAITH NOW AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING SHOW FEATURES A ROOF-RAISING SCORE BY EIGHT-TIME OSCAR® WINNING COMPOSER ALAN MENKEN
Music Theatre International (MTI) has announced that Leap of Faith by award-winning composer Alan Menken (Disney’s Beauty and The Beast and Little Shop of Horrors), is now available for licensing. The Leap of Faith score is inspired by the sounds of gospel, country, and American roots music. The creative team also includes book writers Janus Cercone and Tony® winner Warren Leight (Side Man) and Grammy® winning lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled).
The musical tells the story of “Reverend” Jonas Nightingale, an electrifying performer and rabble-rouser, who is travelling with his ministry. When his bus breaks down in the middle of a small Kansas town, Jonas plans an impromptu revival to take the entire town for a ride. The some-time reverend pitches a tent and invites the townspeople to his revival; however, the sheriff, a woman named Marla McGowan, is determined to stop Jonas from taking the people’s money. Jonas is torn between greed and love when he becomes romantically involved with the sheriff. Her love forces the cynical Reverend to come to terms with his faith and his life.
“Leap of Faith is an ideal choice for community theaters and high schools looking for a show with a fantastic score, a moving and funny story, great roles for principals and ensemble members, and an inspiring message of self-discovery,” stated Drew Cohen, president of MTI. “We’re thrilled to represent a show created by such a dynamic creative team and look forward to seeing how theaters around the world interpret this exciting new work and how audiences receive its life-affirming message.”
Leap of Faith is based on the 1992 film of the same name. The movie starred Steve Martin, Debra Winger, and Liam Neeson. The movie plot was adapted to a musical, which received its first series of workshops in May of 2008. In early 2010, the musical was given a developmental workshop with director Rob Ashford. Leap of Faith made its world premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on September 11, 2010, directed by Rob Ashford. The Los Angeles run was a limited engagement and was positively received. The musicalmoved to Broadway on April 3, 2012 at the St. James Theatre and featured four-time Tony Award® nominee Raul Esparza (Cabaret, Company) as Jonas Nightingale. The Broadway transfer was directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo (who both worked on Memphis). The musical was nominated for several Drama Desk Awards as well as Best Musical for the 2012 Tony Awards.
For additional information on the show and licensing information, visit theLeap of Faith page on MTI http://mtiblog.mtishows.com/
Music Theatre International is one of the world’s leading dramatic licensing agencies, protecting the rights and legacies of composers, lyricists and book writers. MTI’s core business is issuing licenses, scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to schools as well as amateur and professional theatres across the globe.
With over 300 classic and contemporary show titles from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and London’s West End, MTI shows have been performed by 60,000 theatrical organizations in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.
MTI is particularly dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger audiences. The Broadway Junior Collection® features 70-minute adaptations of major musicals designed for middle school children to perform; the KIDS Collection®, provides 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children; School Editions are musicals that have been annotated for performance by high school students; and the Theatre For Young Audiences Collection, 70-minute musicals designed for adults to perform for children.