A BEAUTIFUL MIND Musical Joins DISCOVERING BROADWAY Incubator Program

The new musical A Beautiful Mind will be the seventh musical to participate in the Discovering Broadway incubator program. The musical, which was announced earlier this month as a new commission from McCarter Theatre, will feature music by Jonathan Larson Grant winner and Drama Desk nominee Zoe Sarnak (Empire Records, The Lonely Few) and book by Golden Globe Award-winning writer Sarah Treem (“House of Cards”, “The Affair”).

The musical is taking its first major step in development at Discovering Broadway, where the creatives, music team, and performers will gather in Indiana to workshop the script, music, and lyrics. The retreat culminates in a public concert debuting a selection from the musical’s score, to benefit the nonprofit’s incubator and master classes, at Newfields in the Tobias Theater in Indianapolis, on Friday, November 21st at 7:30PM.

Defying the odds, CEO/Founder Joel Kirk launched Discovering Broadway just before the pandemic, with a mission to provide artists with the time and support to create new work, while at the same time providing midwestern audiences with the opportunity to see world class artists and Broadway’s future hits. Over 100 artists have participated in the incubator, which provides fully funded artist retreats for creative teams and casts traveling from Los Angeles, New York City, London, and beyond, to Indianapolis. 

Since launching five years ago, Discovering Broadway has incubated six original musicals through fully funded artist retreats in Indiana and, in addition to hosting ticketed concerts, has also brought hundreds of Indiana students together with stars like Grammy Award Winner Phillipa Soo (Hamilton), Tony Award Winner Lindsay Mendez (Merrily We Roll Along), and “Stranger Things” actor Gaten Matarazzo. One of its most visible successes is the musical The Devil Wears Prada with music by Elton John, lyrics by two-time Tony winner Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick (KPop Demon Hunters), book by Kate Wetherhead (Ever After), which completed a Discovering Broadway retreat in February 2021. The musical opened in London’s West End in 2024 where it continues its run.

The nonprofit has supported both major IP and bold new visions—like Ever After (based on Twentieth Century Studios film, opening May 2026 at Phoenix Theatre) and an experimental Hamlet musical featuring a different composer-lyricist for each character, including two-time Grammy Award Nominee Cody Fry, Grammy Award Nominee LOLO, and two-time Emmy Award Nominee Douglas Lyons, conceived and led by award-winning director Joel Kirk.. A YouTube song led Kirk to invite Zack Zadek and Sammi Cannold for a month-long retreat in 22022; the resulting musical project, The Turning, was selected from over 400 submissions by the National Music Theater Conference.

Discovering Broadway Managing Director, Maggie Morgan adds, "Discovering Broadway's incubator program is an incredibly special and writer-focused program, and we couldn't be more thrilled to help the team at A Beautiful Mind facilitate the writing process. The opportunity to uplift the storytellers who shape our culture is central to our mission. We can't wait for this fall!"