Chip Deffaa's GEORGE M. COHAN: RARE PERFORANCES Album Out Now

Playwright Chip Deffaa, who wrote and directed the Off-Broadway musical "George M. Cohan Tonight!," has just released an album of Cohan himself.

"The album is an outgrowth of my Off-Broadway show. The actors who've played Cohan in various productions of the show in New York, throughout the US, and abroad have often asked me to provide them with recordings of Cohan from my collection, to help them prepare for the role. I have one of the two major collections of Cohan materials in the world, and I've decided to share some of my holdings with the public. Cohan was the founding father of American musical theater. And I'm very proud that this album includes some of Cohan's rarest work, available nowhere else--including 'live' recordings of him rehearsing as well as performing."

The album--"George M. Cohan--Rare Performances Curated by Chip Deffaa"--may be ordered from Amazon HERE!

The album is part of a series of collectors'-edition CD's that Deffaa is producing, saluting early greats of Broadway, such as Al Jolson, Fanny Brice, and George M. Cohan.

Deffaa notes: "Cohan pretty much invented the modern Broadway musical. It was Cohan who gave Broadway its beat, its pace, its snap. It was Cohan who made America--not Europe--the pace-setter for musical theater. And no one in theatrical history ever did as many different things as well as Cohan. He wrote songs--like 'Give My Regards to Broadway,' 'Mary's a Grand Old Name,' and 'Over There'--that will live forever. He wrote the book, music, and lyrics for high-spirited hit musicals that he not only starred in, he directed, choreographed, and co-produced them. Anyone with an interest in Broadway history owes it to himself to know Cohan's work. I put together this CD because there is no other album available that gives such a broad sampling of Cohan's work. And he's been a lifelong source of inspiration for me."

Deffaa has written six different shows about Cohan, all of which have been published and are available for licensing. The film adaptation of Deffaa's "George M. Cohan Tonight!," starring Jon Peterson--for whom Deffaa wrote the original play--is currently on the international film-festival circuit, where it has won 18 awards thus far.

Deffaa cautions buyers of the new album: "Don't expect high-fidelity sound or anything like that. This album includes recordings from my collection that were made over a century ago. And there are limits to what even such gifted audio engineers as Slau Halatyn and Scott Gordon--who are remastering the vintage recordings in my 'Broadway Legends' series -can do. But if you can get past the limitations of early recording techniques, there are performances on this album by a trailblazing Broadway superstar. And they hold up wonderfully. You'll hear recordings of Cohan--plus some by his contemporaries, performing his material--that are priceless."

In addition to 24 vintage recordings, the album includes two modern-day bonus tracks. One features Jon Peterson, the foremost living interpreter of Cohan's work, singing (and tap-dancing to) Cohan's signature song, "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." The other bonus track is a new recording by Deffaa himself of a never-before-recorded song that Cohan wrote while he was dying, "Life is Like a Musical Comedy." Deffaa notes: "This song is Cohan's final statement on life. Many years ago I found a vocal lead sheet for this song in the Cohan Papers, organized by John Kenrick, at the Museum of the City of New York. And I'm honored to make the first studio recording of the song, accompanied by pianist/musical director Richard Danley and violinist Andy Stein."

Deffaa has dedicated the album "with great appreciation and respect" to Cohan's descendants, Mary Ross, Joel Ronkin, and Jennifer Ross.

Frank Dain handled graphic design for the album; and Steve Garrin, Matthew Nardozzi, Matthew Pugliese, Jessee Dakota Riehl, and Bryan Guillen are credited with production assistance. The album will be getting its radio debut on "Uncle Floyd on the Radio," WFDU-FM.