Ben Toth and Sam Forman New Songwriting Team for Sleepless in Seattle Musical

Composer Ben Toth and lyricist Sam Forman will be the new songwriting team for the upcoming stage musical version of Sleepless in Seattle. As previously reported, the production will be helmed by Lonny Price, and presented at The Pasadena Playhouse beginning June 2013.

Based on the popular film, the musical has a book by Jeff Arch, who penned the film’s original story and co-wrote the screenplay, sharing 1994 Oscar, BAFTA and WGA nominations with Nora Ephron and David Ward. Eric Stern will be the musical director.

The show centers around Sam, a widower and single father. When Sam’s son, Jonah calls into a talk radio program looking for a new mother, Sam ends up getting on the phone and laments about his lost love. Thousands of miles away in Baltimore, Annie hears the program and immediately falls in love with Sam, despite the fact that she has never met him and that she is engaged to another man. Believing they are meant to be together, Annie sets out for Seattle to meet Sam, who, meanwhile, contends with an onslaught of letters from available women equally touched by his phone call.

Toth just completed the score for writer-director Josh Radnor’s feature film Liberal Arts. His theater music has been performed by Grammy/Tony winner Duncan Sheik, Tony winner John Lloyd Young, and Grammy nominee Jane Monheit.

Forman is the lyricist and co-book author for the musical I Sing!, which has been produced commercially Off-Broadway and in theaters around the world. He is currently on the writing staff of etflix’s first original TV program, House of Cards.