Lisa Howard To Sing SONGS OF INNOCENCE & EXPERIENCE At Birdland 4/12

Ghostlight Records is proud to announce the release of the debut CD from Lisa Howard - one of the Broadway stars of William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - on April 12, 2011. Songs of Innocence and Experience: The Music of William Finn is the first solo recording to exclusively feature the music of the Tony Award winning composer and lyricist of Falsettos, A New Brain, Elegies and more. Ms. Howard will perform a concert at Birdland on Monday, April 11 at 7:00 PM to celebrate the CD release. The album is available for pre-order at www.sh-k-boom.com/lisahoward.shtml.

Songs of Innocence and Experience: The Music of William Finn showcases Finn's trademark combination of pathos and idiosyncratic wit, brought to life by Howard's extraordinary voice. In addition to songs from Finn's acclaimed shows Falsettos ("Father To Son," "Trina's Song"), A New Brain ("Sailing") and Elegies ("When The Earth Stopped Turning"), this CD presents the world premiere recordings from his song-cycle Songs of Innocence and Experience and the yet-unproduced musical The Royal Family of Broadway. Other highlights include the rousing opener "Listen To The Beat" from Royal Family, the soaring "Infinite Joy" from Elegies, and the tender "That's Enough For Me" from Romance In Hard Times. Howard's interpretations perfectly capture the pluck, sass and drama that make Finn such a seminal composer.

On the CD Howard is joined by a 14-piece band led by Music Director Vadim Feichtner and a team of backing vocalists. Derrick Baskin - her Spelling Bee co-star also known for roles in Memphis and The Little Mermaid - and Sebastian Arcelus, Broadway star of Elf The Musical, Jersey Boys and Wicked, join Howard for special duets.

"The first time I heard Lisa Howard sing, my head exploded," said William Finn. "Her diction is always perfect, her singing powerful yet effortless. When she sings, she illuminates a song like a lightbulb illuminating a maze. She makes the act of interpreting a song look ridiculously easy, even when it's ridiculously hard." The CD - which was produced by Vadim Feichtner, with Jen Namoff and Lisa Howard serving as Executive Producers - features orchestrations by Carmel Dean, Eugene Gwozdz, Matt Hinkley, Brian Lowdermilk, David Siegel and Michael Starobin.

Lisa Howard is a native of Akron, Ohio, where she acquired her love for music, spending countless hours sitting in front of the record player listening and singing along to Annie and The Sound of Music. Lisa attended the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, where she earned a BFA in musical theatre, and has performed at regional theatres across the country, including the St. Louis MUNY (where she received her Equity card), Carousel Dinner Theatre, the Human Race Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center and Barrington Stage Company. She was a member of the national touring company of Les Misérables, in which she went on for many performances as Madame Thénardier. In addition to Spelling Bee, she has appeared on Broadway in South Pacific and 9 to 5, and starred in the International Fringe Festival's production of Silence! The Musical. Next year she will make her feature film debut as Chavaughn the vampire in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, opposite Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Please visit www.LisaHowardNYC.com for more information.

Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street in Manhattan. Please visit www.birdlandjazz.com or call (212) 581-3080 for reservations.

SH-K-BOOM RECORDS with its imprint Ghostlight Records has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings - building a library of over 100 records the last 10 years, featuring the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway's biggest stars. Founded by Kurt Deutsch and wife Sherie Rene Scott, the label was created by and for the Broadway community and has garnered acclaim not only for their high-quality recordings, but for their innovative marketing techniques and efforts to reach the next generation of Broadway music fans via iTunes, music videos and more. The label and President Kurt Deutsch earned their first ever Grammy Award for the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. In recent seasons, Ghostlight has also preserved the scores of some of Broadway's biggest musicals, including Next to Normal, Hair, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Legally Blonde, Everyday Rapture, Passing Strange, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Drowsy Chaperone. Just released on the label are the cast recording of Sister Act, as well as solo albums from Tony winners Sutton Foster, Alice Ripley, Christine Ebersole and Ben Vereen. For more information, visit www.GhostlightRecords.com or www.sh-k-boom.com.

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