First, there was the song. Then the movie. Then another movie. And this fall, fans of "God's Not Dead" will be "roaring like a lion" to see their favorite story (and song) on Broadway.
The historic Nederlander Theatre in New York's Broadway district posted on its events calendar this week that "God's Not Dead: The Musical" would be happening Sept. 9 through Oct. 23--jumping the gun on an official announcement PureFlix had planned for June.
"We'd hoped to keep this under wraps a little longer, while our energies are focused on the release of God's Not Dead 2, but here we are," posted PureFlix's official Twitter account. "It's official: We're doing a musical!"
In a statement subsequently released by PureFlix Live--the new live entertainment wing of the Christian film studio--
God's Not Dead: The Musical will follow the storyline of the original
God's Not Dead film, and will even feature one of its stars: Shane Harper, who portrayed protagonist Josh Wheaton.
Harper, who recently was featured in a live television musical of
The Passion on Fox, was excited to continue to hone his live performance chops.
"Doing
The Passion really reignited my passion for live theatre," Harper told NRT. "I'm really quite amazed at the impact and longevity of this whole 'God's Not Dead' thing, and I'm excited to tell this story in a brand new way."
The role of Professor Radisson reportedly has not yet been cast, however sources report PureFlix Live is in negotiations with Kevin Sorbo to reprise his role on the stage.
"It's going to be 'God's Not Dead' like you've never seen it before," said the musical's director, Julie Taymor, known for her work with
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. "There will be high flying stunts, pyrotechnics, exciting video and holographic elements, and even the introduction of well-timed scents in the production. It's going to be groundbreaking on a lot of levels."
The Newsboys--who didn't write the "God's Not Dead" song, but certainly popularized it--have written a number of original, new songs for the onstage treatment of the story, including the explosive opener by Prof. Radisson ("God Is Dead And Your Grade Is Next"), the emotional ballad of turmoil between Josh and his girlfriend, Kara ("Your Faith Lives, But Our Relationship Is Dead"), and the tense debate songs about the existence of God ("Macroevolution is Dead to Me" and "He's Dead / No, He Isn't Dead"). Finally, before the triumphant title track closes out the show, there's the tearful goodbye to the Professor ("Radisson is Dead, But God Still Isn't").
"We couldn't be more excited about the prospect of taking
God's Not Dead: The Musical to a completely new audience on Broadway," Duhon said. "We think this is just the beginning of what could be a massive worldwide theatrical tour that will continue to keep 'God's Not Dead' in the public consciousness."
Tickets go on sale for God's Not Dead: The Musical's New York run in June. For more information, visit PureFlix Live's official website.
