Broadway's ON THE TOWN Releases Two-Disc Cast Album Today

By: Mar. 03, 2015
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The new Broadway revival of On The Town was recorded in November 2014 for a two-disc cast album to be released by PS Classics. On The Town, which features a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by Leonard Bernstein, and is based on an idea by Jerome Robbins, is currently running at Broadway's Lyric Theatre (213 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036). The album is out today, March 3, at www.PSClassics.com.

The recording is produced by seven-time Grammy nominated producer Robert Sher, whose credits include Nice Work If You Can Get It; How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Nick Jonas; Fela; the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, starring Patti Lupone; and the 30th Anniversary cast recording of Ain't Misbehavin, starring American Idol winner Ruben Studdard. Howard and Janet Kagan are also producers of the cast album and Dennis Grimaldi is the Executive Producer.

Directed by John Rando (Tony Award for Urinetown) and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse (Emmy Award winner for "Smash"), with music performed by the largest orchestra on Broadway, consisting of 28 musicians conducted by musical director James Moore (Follies, Ragtime), On The Town began previews on Saturday, September 20, 2014 and opened on Thursday, October 16, 2014.

ON THE TOWN stars Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Jay Armstrong Johnson (The New York Philharmonic's Sweeney Todd, Hands On A Hardbody, Hair), and Clyde Alves (Bullets Over Broadway, Nice Work If You Can Get It) as the sailors on 24-hour shore leave who take on the Big Apple; Megan Fairchild (New York City Ballet Principal Dancer), Alysha Umphress (American Idiot) and Elizabeth Stanley (Company) as the women who steal their hearts; and Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray, Xanadu) in the role of "Madame Dilly". Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Legally Blonde: The Musical, Ragtime, Falsettos, Sweet Charity) plays "Judge Pitkin" alongside Allison Guinn (Hair) as "Lucy Schmeeler," Tony Award nominee Phillip Boykin (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) and Stephen DeRosa (Hairspray, The Nance, Into The Woods). Fairchild, a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, makes her Broadway debut playing 'Ivy Smith.'

Rounding out the cast is an ensemble of 20, including Chip Abbott, Tanya Birl, Angela Brydon, Holly Ann Butler, Julius C. Carter, Peter Chursin, Kristine Covillo, Lori Ann Ferreri, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Stephen Hanna, Eloise Kropp, Brandon Leffler, Jess Leprotto, Cory Lingner, Skye Mattox, Michael Rosen, Samantha Sturm, Christopher Vo, Cody Williams, and Mikey Winslow.

ON THE TOWN features book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by Leonard Bernstein, and is based on an idea by Jerome Robbins.

The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and three sailors are hoping to get just a little bit lucky on 24-hour shore leave in the Big Apple. From the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Coney Island to Times Square and Carnegie Hall, On The Town zigzags through New York City as the sailors and the three high-spirited young women they meet chase love, dreams, and each other during an unforgettable day in the city that never sleeps. The classic score features the standards "New York, New York," "I Can Cook Too," "Lonely Town," and "Some Other Time" and is played in this production with their original orchestrations, performed by the largest orchestra on Broadway, with 28 musicians.

Created by the legendary creative team of Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jerome Robbins, On The Town grew out of the Jerome Robbins ballet Fancy Free, about three sailors on leave in New York, which debuted in 1944 with the American Ballet Theatre. The musical opened at Broadway's Adelphi Theater later that year, directed by George Abbott, and played through February 2, 1946 for a total of 462 performances, transferring to the 44th Street Theatre and Martin Beck Theatre along the way.

ON THE TOWN features scenic and projection design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt (Act One, Chaplin, Rock of Ages), lighting design by Drama Desk nominee Jason Lyons (Bring it On, Rock of Ages), costume design by Tony Award winner Jess Goldstein (Newsies, Jersey Boys, The Rivals), sound design by Tony Award nominee Kai Harada (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet), hair and makeup design by Leah Loukas (A Night with Janis Joplin, Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike), musical direction by James Moore, and additional material by Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins.

ON THE TOWN is produced by Howard & Janet Kagan (Pippin, The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess); Severn Partners Entertainment; Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman; Paula Marie Black; Nigel Lythgoe; Michael J. Moritz Jr.; Ken Mahoney/Michael A. Alden/Dale Badway; Ambassador Theatre Group; Margie and Bryan Weingarten; Kim Schall; Michael Rubenstein; Terry, Louise and Chris Lingner; Allan S. Gordon and Adam S. Gordon; Corey Brunish and Brisa Trinchero; Stephanie Rosenberg; Domnick Laruffa Jr. and Rob Hinderliter; Neal Rubinstein/Jeremy Handelman; Lizbeth Bintz; Riki Kane Larimer; Dennis Grimaldi/Robert Sher/Mary Maggio/Hello Ent.; Matt Ross/Ben Feldman/Pamela Cooper; and Barrington Stage Company.

An eight-time Grammy nominee (for its cast albums of Assassins, Nine: The Musical, Grey Gardens, Company, A Little Night Music, Sondheim on Sondheim, Follies and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess), PS Classics celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song through its award-winning cast recordings; solo albums by such artists as Victoria Clark, Maureen McGovern, Kate Baldwin, Steven Pasquale and Liz Callaway; and restorations of long-lost musicals, including Sweet Bye and Bye and Strike Up the Band. Recent releases include Fun Home (Original Cast Recording), Far From Heaven (Original Cast Recording), Philip Chaffin's Somethin' Real Special (The Songs of Dorothy Fields), and Original Broadway Cast Recordings of Violet and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill. Visit www.psclassics.com.



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