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Avett Brothers Musical Swept Away Will Sweep Broadway Audiences Away in Fall 2024
The musical Swept Away, with music and lyrics by the folksy musical trio the Avett Brothers, is coming to Broadway this fall, starring John Gallagher, Jr., Stark Sands, Adrian Blake Enscoe and Wayne Duvall. The announcement was made onstage at an Avett Brothers concert at Forest Hills Stadium on May 17. Gallagher, Sands, Enscoe and Duvall joined the band onstage for the news.
Directed by Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, American Idiot) with a book by John Logan (Moulin Rouge!), Swept Away had its world premiere at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2022 and was subsequently staged at Arena Stage in Washington D.C.
Including Avett Brothers songs such as “No Hard Feelings,” “Murder in the City” and “Ain’t No Man”, the musical is inspired by the Avett Brothers’ 2004 concept album Mignonette, which was itself inspired by the story of the 1844 shipwreck of that name.
When a violent storm sinks their whaling ship off the coast of New Bedford, Mass., the four survivors face a reckoning: how far will they go to stay alive? And can they live with the consequences?
Logan, Mayer, the actors and the Avett Brothers spoke about the show at length with Broadway.com in 2023.
The creative team for the Arena Stage production included Tony Award-nominated choreographer David Neumann, music supervisor Brian Usifer, music arrangements & orchestrations by Chris Miller and Brian Usifer, music director Will Van Dyke, Tony Award-winning set designer Rachel Hauck, Tony Award-winning costume designer Susan Hilferty, four-time Tony Award-winning lighting designer Kevin Adams, Tony Award-winning sound designer John Shivers, stage manager Matthew Leiner, and assistant stage managers Alice M. Pollitt, Marne Anderson, and Jalon Payton.