SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Musical With Score by A Great Big World to Receive Industry Reading

A private industry reading of the new musical Silver Linings Playbook will take place on Friday, October 23, 2026.

Featuring an original score by A Great Big World (Ian Axel and Chad King), the Grammy Award-winning duo behind 'Say Something' and 'This Is the New Year,' and a book by four-time Tony Award nominee Rick Elice (Water for Elephants, Jersey Boys), Silver Linings Playbook is directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo, Water for Elephants).

In a Philadelphia neighborhood, a man determined to win back his wife finds hope, and a dance partner, in the last person he'd expect.

Silver Linings Playbook is based on David O. Russell's 2012 Academy Award-winning motion picture of the same name and Matthew Quick's New York Times bestselling novel The Silver Linings Playbook. The film starring Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver grossed over $200 million worldwide and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It was the first film in over 30 years to receive nominations in all four acting categories, with Lawrence winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Additional details and a production timeline will be announced at a later date.

Bespoke Theatricals serves as General Manager.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

A Great Big World - Ian Axel & Chad King (Music & Lyrics). A Great Big World encompasses the GRAMMY Award-winning artistry of Ian Axel and Chad King. The world first fell in love with their music in 2013 when they delivered 'Say Something' with Christina Aguilera. The song reached 6x-Platinum status, garnered over 1 billion streams, and earned a 2015 GRAMMY Award for 'Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.'

The duo met in 2005 while attending New York University with aspirations of writing a musical. Their theatrical flair is apparent on their debut full-length album, Is There Anybody Out There?, which entered the Billboard 200 at #3.

Ian and Chad maintain a commitment to vulnerable, clever, earnest, and heartfelt songwriting above all. Their songs have been sung by some of the world's most recognizable voices, including Andrea Bocelli, Ellie Goulding, and Gwen Stefani. They've collaborated on recordings with Ingrid Michaelson, Jason Mraz, and Pentatonix. And now, their story comes full circle as they set out to accomplish what they originally dreamed of doing when they first met—writing a musical. www.agreatbigworld.com
IG: @agreatbigworld // Spotify

Rick Elice (Book). Four-time Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee. Grammy and Olivier Award winner. On Broadway: Jersey Boys (Best Musical; Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards); The Addams Family; Peter and the Starcatcher (five Tony Awards); The Cher Show (two Tony Awards); Water for Elephants (seven Tony Award nominations); Smash. Up next: The Princess Bride. From 1982-1999, as Creative Director at Serino Coyne Inc, Rick created advertising campaigns for more than 300 Broadway shows, from A Chorus Line to The Lion King. From 1999-2009, Rick served as creative consultant for The Walt Disney Studios. Trustee, The Actors' Fund; Charter Member, American Repertory Theatre; BA, Cornell University; MFA, Yale School of Drama. Teaching Fellow, Harvard University. Finding Roger, Rick's tribute to his late partner, Roger Rees, is published by Kingswell.

Jessica Stone (Director) was appointed Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse in November 2025 and will be launching her inaugural season in April 2027. She was nominated in 2024 for a Tony Award for directing the original Broadway musical Water for Elephants, for which she also won the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Director. In 2023 she received a Tony Award nomination for her direction of Kimberly Akimbo, which won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Jessica worked as an actress on and off-Broadway, in television and in film for decades before transitioning to directing. Her directing career began in earnest with her all male 2010 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has since been directing all over the country at such theaters as Encores City Center, A.C.T., Shakespeare Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, The Old Globe, Two River Theatre Company, Bucks County Playhouse, George Street Playhouse and The Williamstown Theatre Festival. She also remounted both Kimberly Akimbo and Water for Elephants in national tours to critical acclaim.

James D. Stern (Producer) founded Endgame Entertainment as an independent entertainment company specializing in financing, developing, and producing. To date, he has produced more than 50 films, over 20 Broadway shows, and various other entertainment properties.

On stage, Stern is a two-time Tony Award-winning producer The Producers, Hairspray, as well as having produced shows such as Legally Blonde, and the international hit, Stomp.

In film, Stern produced Murder Mystery and Murder Mystery 2 starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Notable films produced and financed by Stern include the international hit, Looper starring Bruce Willis, Joe Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt; Lone Scherfig's An Education, which earned three Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Actress (Carey Mulligan); Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed Side Effects; Todd Haynes' I'm Not There for which Cate Blanchett won a Golden Globe Award and was an Academy Award nominee; and Hotel Rwanda which was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Actor (Don Cheadle).

Stern is also an accomplished director of eight films. Giving Voice, a documentary, received the Festival Favorite Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Every Little Step was short-listed for the Oscar for Best Documentary.

In television, Stern produced the Emmy Award-winning documentary series 'Last Chance U' for Netflix.

Oren Michels (Producer) is a Tony-nominated Broadway and Off-Broadway producer whose credits include Romeo + Juliet and Good Night and Good Luck, starring George Clooney. He spent a year as ED and CEO of The Groundlings, a Los Angeles based comedy improv theatre company, and is the Cofounding Executive Producer of the nonprofit League of Live Stream Theater (www.lolst.org).

Oren is also an entrepreneur, investor, board member, and advisor to technology startups in the US and Europe. He has advised numerous enterprise software companies on developing and implementing strategies for growth and in closing M&A transactions.

Oren has spoken at numerous conferences around the world, including SXSW, Le Web, f.ounders, the Dublin Web Summit, Web 2.0, and Podim Slovenia and has guest lectured at MIT, Columbia, Cal and UCLA.

Oren holds an SB in Electrical Engineering (VI-1) from MIT and an MBA from UCLA.

Tom Viertel (Executive Producer) and his partners—Richard Frankel, Steve Baruch and Marc Routh—have spent more than four decades producing and general managing acclaimed theater across Broadway, Off-Broadway, on tour and internationally. Their Broadway credits include landmark premiere productions of The Producers, Hairspray, Young Frankenstein, Smokey Joe's Café, Angels in America, and Back to the Future: The Musical. They have also led notable revivals, including Gypsy, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Company, and The Sound of Music.

Off-Broadway, their work includes premieres like Penn and Teller, Driving Miss Daisy, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Oleanna, Jeffrey, Love Letters, Marvin's Room, and Stomp. Their production Song of Singapore helped inspire the cabaret venue 54 Below, which they jointly operate as a not-for-profit. Since forming their partnership in 1985, they have mounted productions and tours across London, Europe, Australia, Canada, and Asia.

Their honors include two Pulitzer Prizes, three Olivier Awards, four Grammy Awards, and nine Tony Awards across all major categories. Tom Viertel served for 25 years as Chairman of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. He also served on the Board of Governors and Executive Committee of the Broadway League and chaired its Government Relations Committee. He is a graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall and Harvard University.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVS-6k2tQAA