Exclusive: ‘A Beautiful Mind’ musical to participate in Discovering Broadway incubator program
The musical, adapted by Sarah Treem and Zoe Sarnak, will receive development assistance from the nonprofit.
Written By: Andy Lefkowitz with Broadway News
September 26, 2025
The stage adaptation of “A Beautiful Mind” will be the seventh musical to participate in an incubator program from the nonprofit Discovering Broadway. The previously announced musical, commissioned by New Jersey’s McCarter Theatre Center, is being adapted from the Oscar-winning film and the biography of the same name. The musical will feature a book by Sarah Treem and a score by Zoe Sarnak.
As part of Discovering Broadway’s incubator program, the “A Beautiful Mind” musical’s creatives, music team and performers will gather in Indiana for a retreat where they will workshop the show’s script, music and lyrics. The retreat will culminate 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 Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
“By developing musicals in a state known for its hospitality but without the regular access, we offer world-class artists a joyful, affordable space to create while building trust with theatergoers eager to witness and then champion new voices,” Joel Kirk, CEO of Discovering Broadway Inc., told Broadway News. “Now, we have an audience base in Indiana hungry for bold new work.”
Since launching five years ago, Discovering Broadway has incubated six original musicals. One of the incubator’s most visible shows is “The Devil Wears Prada,” which features music by Elton John, lyrics co-penned by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick and a book by Kate Wetherhead. That musical adaptation of the book and film completed a Discovering Broadway retreat in February 2021 and in fall 2024 opened in London’s West End, where it continues its play.
“A Beautiful Mind” tells the true story of John Forbes Nash Jr.’s quest to win the Nobel Prize for his mathematical contributions to game theory — exploring the collision between his genius and mental illness.
