The musical "Me, Attila József"  is a play by Marton Vizy (music) and David A. Tóth (book) that was premiered 10 February, 2012 at Madách Színház (Madách Theatre, Budapest). The play is about the fateful life of Attila József,, a Hungarian poet born into poverty through the eyes of two of his lovers. 

History:

The idea of a musical that would feature Attila József, the famous Hungarian poet as its main protagonist was David A. Tóth's idea that was, in turn, came from listening to an album (2005) by Marton Vizy, containing Attila József's poems set to music. 

„I put Marton's new album on the CD player and I got almost paralyzed. I listened to all of the songs without moving an inch. I was mesmerized by what I heard. The difficult, interwoven and multilayered beauty of the poems were transformed into a seamless, soft and sweet pop music. When I listened to "With a Pure Heart" (Tiszta Szívvel) my heart started pounding and I said to myself: Oh, my God: this is a musical!" 

Upon hearing David's idea, Marton was surprised first, then delighted. Yet, the first-version synopsis - that centered upon the short-lived poet's journey from obscurity to fame through the eyes of his lovers - ended up in the drawer chest for years. In 2010, the Musical Contest of Madách Theatre (one of Europe's finest musical theatres) offered the perfect opportunity for the play. 

„It really came by chance. I was talking to Magdi Bódi, a well-known Hungarian singer at a business training weekend. Of course, we chatted about music and I mentioned to her that I also write lyrics and consider writing a musical. And then, simply, she just turned towards me and said: "So why don't you go for the Madách Musical Contest? Today is the deadline!" And that was it: I couldn't wait to run home and learn more about the contest. Shortly before midnight, I submitted our play. ” 

The play got into the final of the contest where a 30 minute-long  cross-section was performed. The cross-section of the play was directed by Katalin Pesty-Nagy and Attila József was performed by Victor Posta, the actor who later got the leading role. Following the final of the contest the director of the theatre, Mr. Tamás Szirtes expressed his wish to work on the play with the young authors. And although the first plans were about a studio performance the previews convinced everybody that the play was ready for the big stage.

 

Yet the big stage also meant a lot of extra work with extremely tight deadlines. Coreography, new scenes, new songs and even new characters had to be added. The first premiere date was postponed once and then it was postponed again. During the last three weeks two more songs were written ("Without a knock on my door", "If you don't embrace me"). Despite the great expectations no-one could predict the reaction of the first full-house audience. As the story unfolded there was deep silence in the auditorium but at the end of the play there was a thundering applause with shouts of ovation. That success has followed the play ever since.