Stage Writes

The Official Stage Rights Blog

Tituss Burgess' Preacher's Wife musical reading finds cast, director

Since breaking into the mainstream with Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Tituss Burgess has been plotting a return to his musical theater roots, albeit in a significantly different role than just performer.

Tituss Burgess








(Gary Gershoff/WireImage; Inset: Getty Images)

Burgess acquired the rights to The Preacher’s Wife last year and has composed the music and lyrics for a stage musical adaptation, which will now feature a new book by Azie Dungey (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and direction by rising talent Michael Arden (2015’s Spring Awakening and this season’s Once on This Island).

The Preacher’s Wife, which is based on the 1996 film (which is itself based on a 1947 Cary Grant movie, based on a 1928 book), tells the story of a beleaguered church pastor and his neglected wife and son, whose emotional lives become entangled with an angel sent by God to help the family. The 1996 film, which featured a score of gospel showstoppers, starred Denzel Washington as the angel, Dudley; Courtney B. Vance as the preacher, Henry; and Whitney Houston as the preacher’s wife, Julia.

Click here for the full article published on EW.com by Mark Snetiker on November 21, 2017.