‘Because of Winn-Dixie’: The Musical

This article originally appeared in PW's Children's Bookshelf. Sign up now!

By Diane Roback -- Publishers Weekly, 6/18/2009

Author Kate DiCamillo’s first book, the Newbery Honor-winning Because of Winn-Dixie, is heading to Broadway. Its producers, Gerald Goehring and Michael Mitri of Patriot Productions, and Dorothy Berloni, struck a deal with Charlie Schroder, former v-p of licensing and development at Candlewick. A creative team is not yet in place, but the musical will feature a live dog playing the role of Winn-Dixie, trained by Bill Berloni (who trained the dog Sandy, for the musical Annie). “The message of the book is personal and affects so many people, including me,” Goehring said. “The opportunity to surround Kate’s story with top Broadway artists lends itself to creating an exciting new Broadway musical.”