Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells Reunite in ‘Gutenberg! The musical!’

Written by Scott Brown and Anthony King, the musical began life in the comedy world, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, where King was Artistic Director, and then developed further at the New York Musical Festival. It ran in London and Off Broadway from 2006 and has since been produced in Australia, France, Korea, Spain and the rest of the US; Brown and King, who have been friends since childhood, went on to write the book for the musical adaptation of “Beetlejuice.”

The Broadway run is scheduled to begin previews on September 15, open on October 12, and close on January 28 at the James Earl Jones Theater. The director is Alex Timbers, who also directed the Off Broadway production in 2006; Timbers later won a Tony Award for directing “Moulin Rouge!”, and he also worked in comedy, including directing “Oh, Hello” on Broadway.

“I love this show, and it’s seen and performed all over the world, but it’s not really well known in New York,” Timbers said. “It borders on the play and comedy world, and I feel like there’s an audience for that.”

Timbers and Gad had been talking for a while about finding a way to work together; Gad said they discussed the possibility of doing a production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” In 2020, Timbers suggested ‘Gutenberg’, and Gad loved the script, which he in turn shared with Rannells; the three did a first reading together in March 2020, days before theaters closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and are now returning to the project.

“Broadway is recovering and it’s ready for an even bigger revival,” said Gad. “I watched the Tony Awards and was amazed at how many productions I was so excited to see on my next trip to New York, and to be a part of – this incredible comeback that Broadway is long overdue to post — pandemic — is a really exciting opportunity. And above all, I think people miss laughing.”