Best selling children's recording artist and preschool television favorite Laurie Berkner is proud to announce that her label, Two Tomatoes Records, will release the original cast recording of the smash children's musical, The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the Princess, on September 18.
Harvey is an amazing kid who doesn't need much to be happy -- just his family and his imagination. When he accidentally gets shipped to Pink Mountain Island (in an imaginary box!), he meets a princess whose royal family needs a lesson in fun and togetherness. This upbeat musical celebrates what happiness is really all about.
Album highlights include "Just Another Day," a song about the extraordinary world of Harvey (who comes from a family of mimes), "No No No!," the rocker of the show, sung by the somewhat spoiled and misunderstood
Princess of Pink Mountain Island, who is not satisfied by any of the multitude of toys she is given, and "Imagine," perhaps the most moving and beautiful number in the musical.
The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the
Princess was originally commissioned and premiered by New York City Children's Theater at Theater 3, New York City, in fall 2014, with music and lyrics by
Laurie Berkner and book by New York City Children's Theater Artistic Director and co-founder
Barbara Zinn Krieger. This production marked Laurie Berkner's second collaboration with New York City Children's Theater. Laurie also wrote the words and music for NYCCT's 2013 hit musical, Wanda's Monster.
Says Laurie, "The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the
Princess was the second musical I composed for, and it was even more satisfying and exciting than the first one (Wanda's Monster)! The thrill of hearing these wonderfully talented performers sing the songs I had written for their characters inspired me to want to make the music available to listen to at home. I hope you'll enjoy singing along with these songs as much as I loved creating them!"
A former preschool music teacher by day and indie rocker by night,
Laurie Berkner started selling her music more than fifteen years ago out of her living room on her own label, Two Tomatoes Records. She is now widely recognized as a pioneer in the "kindie" music genre and was dubbed "The undisputed queen of kindie rock" by USA Today.
The Wall Street Journal noted, "Her music is distinctive because it speaks to kids without talking down to them, charming youngsters without boring grown-ups."
Laurie Berkner was the first artist to ever appear in music videos on Nick Jr. and was featured in nearly all of the episodes of the channel's Jack's
Big|Brave Music Show. She currently stars in the animated musical short-form series Sing It, Laurie! on the Sprout preschool channel and makes regular appearances on Sprout's Sunny Side Up Show. Laurie is a familiar presence on SiriusXM's Kids Place Live, where her "Instant Party" segments with daughter Lucy air throughout each day.
In advance of the October 23 release of her tenth children's album, a two-disc set titled Laurie Berkner's Favorite Classic Kids' Songs, Laurie is thrilled to support the digital release of
The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the
Princess (Original Cast Recording) through her label, Two Tomatoes Records.
New York City Children's Theater (formerly Making Books Sing) is a nonprofit organization that creates original, entertaining, and enriching theater for young audiences and adults to enjoy together. The organization believes a city as culturally rich as New York needs a children's theater that produces high quality, original productions and develops robust arts-in-education programs serving children in all communities across the five boroughs. New York City Children's Theater's mission is to promote children's literacy and social development through professional theater productions and arts-in-education programs. NYCCT reaches children and their communities with a wide range of programming, including full-scale productions, small touring shows, interactive workshops, and in-school residencies, engaging audiences in traditional theater spaces, school auditoriums, classrooms, and cultural venues in their neighborhoods.
The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the
Princess will be available for download at all digital retailers, including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, and more. Wanda's Monster is available on iTunes.
