Why has this great show never made it to Broadway? Not for lack of trying. In fact, three bigtime Broadway producers took it on, promising to bring it to the Great White Way. One was Ed Padula, an extrememly successful producer who brought “Bye, Bye, Birdie” to Broadway. The others were all well known and successful. So what happened?
Well, there was a little God problem. Every one of them told us there was too much God, too much Jesus, too much religious stuff in it. Won’t work on Broadway they said, one after another. Scale the God stuff down, they chanted.
But we couldn’t do that and still present Johnny Appleseed in his true light – the guy who walked around planting apple trees and telling all who’d listen “The News Right Fresh from Heaven.” It has been produced three times: the premier being at the University of Texas at Austin in 1971 to rave reviews (you can see them on this site). Yeah, that’s right. 50 years ago. And we’re still at it.
So if you aren’t afraid to get God and Jesus out there, and you have a ton of money, give me a shout and we’ll get together.