STAGE TUBE: Composer Christopher Smith Talks the Inspiration for AMAZING GRACE

The new Broadway musical, Amazing Grace, opened last week on Broadway and CBS News recently sat down to talk with the amazing man behind the musical , Christopher Smith. Smith went from being a small town cop to writing a full-blown Broadway musical. He attributes the success of the show and getting it to Broadway to "belief."

Christopher Smith was a cop and simply loved to read about history. When talking about the inspiration for Amazing Grace he says, "I was wondering through a library and pulled a book a book off a shelf at random." The book was by John Newton, a British slave trader. The book became the inspiration for this new Broadway musical.

John Newton would turn to God and faith in a time of need and that led him to write one of the greatest and well-known hymns of all time, Amazing Grace. The story has now inspired Amazing Grace on Broadway.

Amazing Grace is a new original musical based on the awe-inspiring true story behind the world's most beloved song. A captivating tale of romance, rebellion and redemption, this radiant production follows one man whose incredible journey ignited a historic wave of change.

John Newton (Tony Award nominee Josh Young), a willful and musically talented young Englishman, faces a future as uncertain as the turning tide. Coming of age as Britain sits atop an international empire of slavery, he finds himself torn between following in the footsteps of his father-a slave trader-or embracing the more compassionate views of his childhood sweetheart (Erin Mackey). Accompanied by his slave, Thomas (Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper), John embarks on a perilous voyage on the high seas. When that journey finds John in his darkest hour, a transformative moment of self-reckoning inspires a blazing anthem of hope that will finally guide him home.

Need more Broadway Theatre News in your life? Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...