![]() ![]() Another earnestly told portrait of faith, the 2012 musical “Scandalous,” about the early-20th-century evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, earned negative reviews on Broadway and closed quickly. With its graphic depiction of the slave trade (black actors play characters suffering under the branding iron) as well as overt religious content (God rescues Newton’s soul), “Amazing Grace” would be unlike any other recent Broadway production. Smith, now 45, said during intermission at that maiden performance, his usually soft-spoken voice rising with genuine wonder. At its first performance, he was so nervous that when a theatergoer put on her coat midway through the show, he was certain she was getting ready to bolt. Smith became the latest anxiety-ridden composer of a new musical, as “Amazing Grace” opened at one of this city’s largest theaters for a run through Sunday. ![]() This month, after years of teaching himself about songwriting and librettos, and with unusual financial backing from Pennsylvania businessmen who were moved by the spiritual themes, Mr. The problem was, he didn’t know the first thing about writing musicals. He decided right then to bring Newton’s story to a wide audience, and would do so with a musical, using “Amazing Grace” itself as both a climax and a title. Smith randomly came across a library book about John Newton, an 18th-century slave trader whose spiritual awakening led him to write the hymn “Amazing Grace,” he felt stars and heavens aligning. Smith found solace by volunteering as a church youth minister, but only some: He is still haunted by the overdose of a 20-year-old he counseled. His instinct was to save them, just as, when he was as a child, he wanted to be saved from his mother’s despair, stemming from her bipolar disorder. CHICAGO - As a police officer in suburban Philadelphia, Christopher Smith always had trouble shaking off images of children scarred by domestic violence or drug addiction. ![]()
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