Dorchester Announces its First Foray into Broadway

New York, NY—Dorchester Publishing is thrilled to announce the signing of the Broadway musical option agreement for Leanna Renee Hieber’s The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, a haunting tale of love and ghosts in Victorian England.

Mt. Claire Entertainment bought the novel for its musical adaptation, and Hieber, who has innate talent for invoking the Victorian era in her writing, will pen the script. Creating music and lyrics are Kenny Seymour (Broadway credits include music direction for “Memphis” and arrangements for “The Wiz”) and Nicholas Roman Lewis (creative development for “The Alchemist” and “They Call Me La Lupe”) with additional orchestrations and arrangements by Jim Abbott (“Wicked,” “Bombay Dreams,” “Disney’s Tarzan”)

“(Hieber’s) lifelong passions for the Victorian era, classic fairy tales, the paranormal and ancient mythology combined with her professional background as a classically trained theater actress endow this project with the essential ingredients for titanic commercial success,” said Tim DeYoung, Dorchester Senior VP for sales, marketing and distribution.

A September 2009 release from Dorchester imprint Leisure Books, the novel tells a lyrical tale of an eerily beautiful young woman who harbors a special talent for interacting with ghosts. The rich, atmospheric love story employs a brilliant cadre of characters who believe Percy may be the key to an ancient prophecy. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker acquired an impressive fan base, rave reviews, and a slot on the Barnes and Noble Bestseller list.

“Leanna’s book had enthralled me from the moment I first read it,” said Lewis, “I knew this would make a wonderful musical…the characters and epic nature of the story lend themselves to song and I knew that Kenny shared my desire to incorporate sweeping cinematic themes with traditional musical theater styles.”

For more about Leanna Renee Hieber and The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, visit http://www.leannareneehieber.com/ or http://www.dorchesterpub.com/. The novel’s sequel, The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, is a May 2010 publication.

About Dorchester Publishing:
Dorchester Publishing has published mass market books since 1971, making it the oldest independent mass market publisher in America. Renowned for discovering New York Times bestselling authors such as Victoria Alexander, Christine Feehan and Lynsay Sands, Dorchester continues to foster new talent with Publisher’s Pledge, a bold new marketing initiative created to launch the careers of the next generation of genre superstars.