Video: John Gallagher, Jr. Introduced Michael Mayer to The Avett Brothers. Now, Swept Away Is Bringing Their Music to Broadway

Swept Away began performances October 29 at Broadway's Longacre Theatre, ahead of a November 19 opening night. Hear the cast and creatives discuss the Avett Brothers musical in the video above.

Michael Mayer is directing. Along with songs by the folk-rock group, the musical features a book by John Logan and choreography by David Newmann.

Leading the cast are Tony winner John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening) as Mate, Stark Sands (Kinky Boots) as Big Brother, Adrian Blake Enscoe (Dickinson) as Little Brother, and Wayne Duvall (1984) as Captain, all reprising their performances from the musical's earlier mountings at Berkeley Repertory and Arena Stage.

"[The Avett Brothers are] a grassroots band that came up playing in dive bars, and years go by and they're playing sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. And that's what it feels like we're doing," Enscoe says. "We have done a tour from coast to coast, we've met people, we've built a grassroots following. And now we're here, and it feels like such a special marriage of those two worlds."

Years before the musical made its way to Broadway, Mayer says Gallagher, played an instrumental part in its creation. The pair worked together on the original Broadway productions of Spring Awakening and American Idiot.

"Producer Matthew Masten called me and said, 'Do you know The Avett Brothers?' Luckily, I did, because John Gallagher Jr. had turned me on to them while we were doing American Idiot, and I thought they were great," Mayer says. "[Masten] said he wanted to turn Mignonette, their album about a shipwreck, a very famous shipwreck from the 19th century, into a stage musical. I said sure, I'm game—as long as we make a part for Johnny."

VIDEO: See Stark Sands, John Gallagher, Jr., More Perform a Song From Swept Away

Swept Away follows four survivors of an 1888 shipwreck off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts. As they struggle to stay alive, they must question whether or not they can live with the consequences of their actions, and discover how tragedy can lead to forgiveness.

The cast also features ensemble members Hunter Brown, Matt DeAngelis, Cameron Johnson, Brandon Kalm, Michael J. Mainwaring, Orville Mendoza, Tyrone L. Robinson, John Sygar, Josh Breckenridge, Rico LeBron, Chase Peacock, and David Rowen. Swings John Michael Finley and Robert Pendilla round out the company.

The creative team also includes music arranger and orchestrator Chris Miller, music arranger and orchestrator/music supervisor Brian Usifer, music director Will Van Dyke, Tony-winning set designer Rachel Hauck, Tony-winning costume designer Susan Hilferty, four-time Tony-winning lighting designer Kevin Adams, Tony-winning sound designer John Shivers, and casting directors Jim Carnahan, Jillian Cimini, and Alexandre Bleau.

Swept Away is produced by Matthew Masten, Sean Hudock, and Madison Wells Live and executive-produced by Wagner Johnson Productions.

Visit SweptAwayMusical.com.