JACK & LOUISA: ACT 1

The first book in a showstopping new middle grade series about life in the spotlight from Broadway theater veterans and internet sensations Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Kate Wetherhead. ACT 1 will publish from Grosset & Dunlap in February 2015, with ACT 2 to follow in Winter 2016, and ACT 3, in Winter 2017.

Twelve-year old Jack Goodrich was a Broadway star, with two shows under his belt and a third in rehearsals. When his voice changes suddenly, Jack and his parents leave the spotlight and move from New York City to a small town. While Jack hopes to leave his Broadway past behind, his new neighbor refuses to let him off the hook. Louisa is a self proclaimed "musical theater nerd" and can hardly believe when an actor moves to town. What’s more, the local theater has announced auditions for her favorite show, “Into the Woods.” As the audition date looms nearer, the two are faced with difficult choices. Should Jack risk humiliation and return to the stage? Will Louisa have confidence to go it alone? And can friendship survive all those complicated octave leaps?

Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Kate Wetherhead both live in New York City. Andrew is a musical theater actor and singer. He has appeared on Broadway in Newsies, Mary Poppins, Seussical, and Beauty and the Beast. Kate originated the role of Chutney in Legally Blonde: The Musical and is a fixture on the New York stage. She has performed extensively Off-Broadway and regionally, and was in the Broadway production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Andrew and Kate created the popular Broadway-themed web series, Submissions Only, which has been profiled by The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Variety, and was hailed as one of Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Things We Love." Submissions Only has over 500,000 views on YouTube, and Andrew and Kate have more than 61,000 combined followers on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Submissions Only guest stars celebrities such as Nick Jonas, Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Wicked’s Kristen Chenoweth. After the U.S. and Canada, the Submissions Only YouTube channel has the most viewers in the UK, Australia, Germany, France, the Philippines, Singapore, Brazil, and Israel.