‘Amazing Grace,’ a Broadway musical about slavery, to begin previews

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Jason Zinoman
Josh Young, left, and Erin Mackey in “Amazing Grace” in Chicago. Credit Joan Marcus
NEW YORK---“Hamilton” isn’t the only new historical epic musical opening on Broadway this summer. With far less fanfare but large ambitions, not to mention budget ($16 million), “Amazing Grace” tries to tell an overtly religious story about America’s original sin through a portrait of John Newton, an 18th- and 19th-century slave trader turned abolitionist who wrote the well-known hymn named in the title. Previews start Thursday, Nederlander Theater, 208 West 41st Street; 877-250-2929, nederlandertheatre.com[link]