‘Amazing Grace,’ the Story of a Slave Trader’s Moral Awakening
Charles IsherwoodJuly 16, 2015: The timing is fortunate for “Amazing Grace,” a Broadway musical about the unusual life story of the man who wrote the lyrics for that classic hymn. President Obama ended his stirring eulogy for the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, a victim of last month’s gruesome killings in a South Carolina church, by singing the song, a last-minute inspiration that made for an affecting viral media moment after a year (and more) of disturbing racial violence. The hymn, which many associate with African-American culture and the civil rights movement of the 1960s, was written in the 18th century by John Newton, an Englishman who worked in the slave-trading business. Make a beeline for the Nederlander Theater, where the show, with a score by a musical theater newcomer, Christopher Smith, and a book by Mr. Smith and Arthur Giron, opened on Thursday. The peculiar story of Newton’s life forms the spine of the musical, which traces the gradual moral awakening that led to his conversion from a trafficker in human flesh to a deeply religious writer of hymns. Unfortunately, while aspects of Newton’s tale are indeed noteworthy, maybe even amazing, the musical itself unfolds as an overstuffed history lesson trimmed in melodrama, with a standard-issue romantic subplot and some dutiful attempts to explore the lives of the slaves (although the focus remains squarely and maybe a little uncomfortably on the British characters).
READ THE REVIEW