To say Rodman Philbrick was surprised would be putting it mildly.

In 2022 the Kittery author got a letter from Anthony Drewe, a British lyricist who has written for Broadway and London’s West End. Drewe said he wanted to create a musical adaptation of Philbrick’s young adult novel “Freak the Mighty.” The book came out in 1993 and this was the first time anyone had suggested that the story of two middle school boys who band together after being bullied could be fodder for a musical.

Though the request “came out of the blue,” Philbrick was impressed with Drewe’s resume. When Philbrook heard some of Drewe’s song lyrics for “Freak the Mighty,” he was sold on Drewe’s vision.

“I’m no expert on what Broadway shows should sound like,” said Philbrick, 75 and the author of more than 40 books. “But this sounded to me like a Broadway show.”

With Philbrick’s approval, Drewe finished writing “Freak the Mighty,” collaborating with composer Ryan Fielding Garrett. Junkyard Dog Productions, the company behind the Broadway smash musical “Come From Away,” agreed to produce it. The show will open at the Cleveland Play House May 22-June 21, before heading to the Seattle Rep July 30-Sept. 6. The hope is that those performances will serve as a test run for Broadway.

“If I see anything in Cleveland I want to change, I’ll have some time before Seattle,” said Drewe, whose credits include “Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure” and new songs for “Mary Poppins.” “After Seattle, it’s kind of in the hands of the producers to say if we’re ready for Broadway or if they’d like to try it out at one more regional theater.”

INPUT ENCOURAGED

Rodman’s book had already been made into a movie, called “The Mighty,” in 1998. The big-name cast included Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, Harry Dean Stanton, Kieran Culkin and James Gandolfini. For the film, Philbrick was not involved creatively. But for the musical version of “Freak the Mighty,” Drewe wanted Philbrick’s approval and advice. Philbrick has already been to New York for four or five work sessions and rehearsals of the production.

“I remember walking from my hotel room for the first reading and realizing Broadway was right in front of me,” said Philbrick. “It’s one thing to go there as a tourist, but it’s another thing to go there because your book is being made into a musical. That’s crazy.”

Even though Philbrick feels like his input has been encouraged and even welcomed, he doesn’t have much. If he really disliked what they were doing with his characters or his story, he’d speak up, but that hasn’t been the case, he said. Plus, he has “no clue” what would make for a good musical.

Philbrick wrote a sequel to “Freak the Mighty” called “Max the Mighty,” in 1998. About half his 40 or so books are aimed at adults and the rest at young adults.

The story of the novel “Freak the Mighty” is set in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where Philbrick went to high school and lived for many years. It centers on the friendship between two middle school outsiders. Max is being brought up by his grandparents; his father is a convicted murderer. Kevin is called “Freak” by classmates because of his short stature and physical disabilities caused by a condition called Morquio syndrome. The idea for the novel came to Philbrick because he knew the family of a young man with Morquio syndrome, but did not write the fictional story until after his death.

The musical features a cast of about 14. Max is played by Netza Jimenez, who recently graduated from Pace University with a BFA in musical theater and is making his professional acting debut. Cornelius Kittrell, a Brooklyn-based performer who was in the 2024 movie “Mr. Santa: A Christmas Extravaganza” and the Starz crime drama “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” plays Kevin.

Philbrick was gratified to see that some sentences from his novel are used word for word in the musical. The passage is from Max’s point of view, talking about his friendship with Kevin, about how even though they are outsiders at school, they become stronger together. They become “Freak the Mighty.”

“The fact that (Drewe) was adhering to my story and using some of my words just meant an enormous amount to me,” Philbrick said.

Drewe said he had first read “Freak the Mighty” in the late 1990s, after the film came out. One of his former collaborators, British playwright Willis Hall, saw the film and told Drewe it might make a good musical. After reading the book, Drewe agreed. The idea stayed with him, though he never got around to doing anything with it. Then, as the pandemic was winding down and theaters were reopening, he began looking for new projects and thought again of “Freak the Mighty.”

Drewe said he fell in love with Max, who has learning challenges, and Kevin, who has physical and medical challenges. The songs in the musical deal with the full range of emotions they go through, from grief, loss and trauma to joy and love. One song is about the difficulties of raising young boys, another is sung by school bullies, and another is sung by Max’s convicted murderer father.

The musical is set in Portsmouth, with the city’s name clearly shown in the set design. Drewe said it was important to him that Philbrick approve any small story changes or lyrics, since the ideas and emotions come from his book.

“He kept saying ‘You do what you want, it’s your show,'” said Drewe. “But it was very generous of him, of someone who has created such a great story.”