IRVING BERLIN: IN PERSON Cast Album To Be Released on 6/3

By: May. 14, 2016
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The premiere recording of ASCAP award-winning writer/director Chip Deffaa's musical play "Irving Berlin: In Person," which was developed at the 13th Street Theater in New York City, will be released June 3rd. Jed Peterson, who's starred Off-Broadway in such shows as "Hard Times" and "Nevsky Prospect," and has been featured on television's "Madame Secretary," stars as Mr. Berlin. Richard Danley is musical director. Choreography and tap-dancing are by Rayna Hirt. Hawkins Gardow is special guest artist. Music preparation is by Donald Brown.

Peter Charney and Matthew Nardozzi are assistants to the producers. The CD, being distributed exclusively in the United States via CDBaby, will be available on CDBaby.com, Amazon.com, iTunes, Footlight Records, Google Music, etc.

"Irving Berlin: In Person" is the 14th musical-theater album to be produced by Deffaa, following on the heels of such albums as "The Seven Little Foys," "Irving Berlin's America," "Theater Boys," "One Night with Fanny Brice," "The Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue," "The George M. Cohan Revue," "Presenting Fanny Brice," "Irving Berlin & Co.," "George M. Cohan: In His Own Words," and "The Johnny Mercer Jamboree."

Published and licensed by Leicester Bay Theatricals, the musical play "Irving Berlin: In Person" is a one-man show about legendary songwriter Irving Berlin. It is one of five shows that Deffaa has written about Berlin, the others being "Irving Berlin's America" (a two-character musical play); the 10-person "Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue"; "Irving Berlin & Co." (a biographical musical for 12-16 players); and "The Irving Berlin Story" (a full-scale musical for 20 or more players). Most of the shows have been developed at Deffaa's base in New York, the 13th Street Repertory Theater, founded and directed by Edith O'Hara.

Deffaa, who is credited with helping spur a renaissance at the 13th Street Rep in recent years, notes: "I'm very grateful to the indefatigable Edith O'Hara, who for many years has given me carte blanche to do readings, workshops, and productions at her theater. I've never met anyone who is more dedicated than Edith O'Hara--now in her one-hundreth year!- to nurturing new work."

The score for "Irving Berlin: In Person"--the first one-man musical play about Berlin to be published-- mixes some of Berlin's most famous songs (such as "I Love a Piano," "After You Get What You Want You Don't Want It," and "Say it with Music") with rarities and rediscoveries--including some numbers that have never before been recorded.

One of the world's foremost authorities on Berlin, Deffaa went through every song in the Berlin catalog--close to 1500 songs in all--in selecting musical numbers to tell Berlin's life story for this solo show.

Deffaa comments: "The score includes many songs that will be brand new to people. I love being able to included unknown and unrecorded songs by Berlin. He wrote more hits and made more money than any other writer in the Golden Age of American Popular Song. And there are still many gems in his trunk just waiting to be rediscovered. This album will appeal to anyone who might enjoy Berlin's music and wants to hear a broad sampling of work. The album will also be invaluable for actors, anywhere in the US., who might wish to star in a regional production of a solo show about Berlin; they can listen to Jed Peterson's renditions of the little-known songs, and learn how to do them. I've admired Jed's talents for 15 years; he impressed me even in his student days at New York's famed LaGuardia High School for Music & Art, and the Performing Arts, and at Princeton University, I'm delighted to have this award-winning actor on the premiere recording."



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