Arlington’s Signature Theatre has announced a private reading of new musical, Big Country, today.

With a book by Emily Mann, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead and music by Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden, Doctor Zhivago), Big Country is based on the novel Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf and is directed by Victoria Clark, with musical direction by Deborah Abramson (Matilda, Spring Awakening).

The reading stars LaChanze (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Color Purple) as Addie Moore and Terrence Mann (Tuck Everlasting, Pippin) as Louis Waters.

Joining them will be Joe Cassidy (Waitress, If/Then), Christian Douglas (Signature’s Midnight at The Never Get), Clifton Duncan (The Play that Goes Wrong), Andrea Jones-Sojola, Megan Loomis (Wicked), David M. Lutken (Inherit the Wind), newcomer Brayden Morgan, Alanna Saunders (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Thom Sesma (The Lion King), Arigon Starr, and Andrew Teirstein. 

One morning, in the fictional small town of Holt, Colorado, widow Addie Moore poses an unexpected question to her neighbour, widower Louis Waters, which triggers an unconventional arrangement that turns into a deep friendship and passionate love affair. However, their happiness is threatened by a prejudiced town and Addie’s troubled and disapproving son. Ultimately, Addie has to choose between the family she already has and the new family she longs for.

Located in the Central High Plains with vast expanse of sky and land, Holt suffers from a cataclysmic drought. In the end, a raging wildfire, a missing child, and the specter of death bring out a basic humanity in unexpected places and unite a divided community.

This American story features a score melding classic American genres (bluegrass, country, folk, and rock) with wit, humor and humanity.

The creative team said: “We feel that the characters from Kent Haruf’s work provide fascinating and fertile examples of modern Americans. Two people of a certain age who have already lived long enough to know who they are and yet are still hungry for love and connection; people who are threatened by climate change and political change; and families and neighbours who struggle with loss, pain, discord, and lack of communication. We see these survivors problem-solve in real time, we hear the music of a quintessential American landscape, and we know we’re seeing a show about our country. We’re so honoured and fortunate to have this opportunity from Signature Theatre to continue developing Big Country with our incredible cast led by LaChance and Terrence Mann. We look forward to taking the insights from this process at Signature and to bringing them to the stage, where we can share Big Country with audiences!”