The holiday jukebox musical What A Wonderful World has been added to the MTI catalogue by Lively McCabe Entertainment and Music Theatre International. This musical will be produced by Florida’s Titusville Playhouse in late 2024, with more information about licensing becoming available in the near future.
The show features a book by Jeremy Desmon and arrangements and orchestrations by Jesse Vargas. Steven J. Heron, the Executive and Artistic Director of Titusville, will direct the production, with Spencer Crosswell serving as the music director. The development of the musical was done in collaboration with BMG and Primary Wave Music.
Set in mid-century New York City and the North Pole, What A Wonderful World follows Santa and Mrs. Claus as they plan to retire and pass on the role of Santa to a new successor. However, when a young New York advertising executive is chosen by the magic sleigh bells, he declines the offer, putting Christmas in jeopardy.
The musical premiered at Timberlake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, Illinois in December 2021, with Paul Stancato directing. The score includes popular Christmas songs like “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” as well as songs from artists like Kelly Clarkson, Imagine Dragons, and Rascal Flatts.
Michael Barra, CEO of Lively McCabe Entertainment expressed his excitement for this collaboration with MTI and hopes that What A Wonderful World will become a new holiday show standard for theaters across the country. The team is grateful to music publishers, songwriters and collaborators who contributed to this production