Andrew Keenan-Bogler and Sarah Charles Lewis,
who plays Winnie, rehearsing.

What do authors Natalie Babbitt, Tim Federle, and Andrew Keenen-Bogler have in common? They’re helping bring the upcoming Broadway musical, Tuck Everlasting, to life, each in their own way. The show is based on Babbitt’s classic children’s novel, Tuck Everlasting (FSG 1975), a staple on school reading lists. Translated into 27 languages and selling over four million copies in the United States since it was first published 40 years ago, Tuck was an American Library Association's Notable Book and winner of the Christopher Award, which honors media that “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.” The story has 10-year-old Winnie encountering the Tucks, who have a literal fountain of youth on their property—a spring with water that makes whoever drinks it immortal. Winnie must decide if she should take a sip and join the Tuck family in eternal life. Claudia Shear, Tony Award nominee for Dirty Blonde, co-writer of the libretto, has been in contact with Babbitt since the show’s inception. “She gave me both free rein and great feedback. I was free to kill off characters, create entire new ones, and completely shift the ending,” Shear says.  Federle’s place in all this? He is Shear’s co-writer. The author of the "Better Nate Than Ever" books remembers being in sixth grade when Tuck was assigned to him. “It was the only homework book I ever finished,” he recalls. “There's something about this story that is primal and speaks to so many generations.”  He credits its longstanding appeal to Babbitt's insight that kids can handle the big questions. Sarah Charles Lewis, who plays Winnie, rehearsing a song. Believe it or not, she's 11 years old! https://youtu.be/Fmf-fU5y2vc Humor is what he hopes to bring to the show. “I think young people, especially, are better able to handle the big questions and answers when served with a dose of whimsy and levity,” he says. Federle believes that Casey Nicholaw, Tuck’s director/choreographer who also worked on Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, and Something Rotten, is on the same page as him on that issue. As for Keenan-Bogler, he’s playing the role of Jesse Tuck. Of course, he also happens to be the co-author (with Kate Wetherhead) of the "Jack and Louisa" books (Grosset Dunlap), which follow the exploits of two musical theater nerds. Keenan-Bogler’s mother read Tuck Everlasting aloud to him when he was a kid. He remembers her becoming emotional whenever she got to the part about not having to live forever.

Tim Federle shows off his new YA novel.

March is a big month for Federle. On the 29th, his debut YA novel, The Great American Whatever (S. & S.), is being released. The storyline involves a a teen who is dealing with his sexuality and the death of his sister. Tuck begins previews on the 31st. The Tuck play adaptation was the “dream project” of lyricist Nathan Tysen—who, along with composed Chris Miller, also read the book in elementary school. After meeting at New York University, they added Tuck to the list of stories they wanted to turn into musicals. “It was the book that made me want to read more books,” says Tysen. Tuck Everlasting opens on April 26 at the Broadhurst Theater.