The album opens and closes with performances by Broadway's Jon Peterson (of "Cabaret" renown), who will be portraying the famed songwriter in a new solo show by Deffaa, "Irving Berlin: In Person," opening November 13th at the 13th Street Theater. Deffaa notes: "This is not a cast album for the new show, but it's related. Irving Berlin wrote far more great songs than could ever be included in one show. So on the album you'll hear Jon singing one of the best songs from the new show--and you'll also hear him singing a 'lost' Berlin song that has never before been recorded. Jon Peterson's a tremendous favorite of mine and he has a real flair for Berlin's music.
"Berlin wrote over 1200 songs, including the scores to 18 Broadway shows and 19 Hollywood musicals. And there are a surprising number of rare, unknown, and lost songs that have some of the great Berlin magic. My goal is to produce albums that anyone who appreciates the Great American Songbook--and good theater singers--can enjoy. And we try to include a few real surprises among the songs that we hope may delight even experts and keepers-of-the-flame who already know the Berlin canon so very well--like, say, Jhon Marshall, Michael Biel, Benjamin Sears or Bradford Connor. For example, Mary Cantoni Johnson, who's played 'Fanny Brice' so memorably in shows of mine, regionally and in New York, gets to sing a song Berlin wrote for Fanny Brice that she never got around to recording.
"This is a high-spirited album, overflowing with youthful exuberance. Most of the songs on this album were written in the first five years of Berlin's career," Deffaa points out. "Berlin was young when he wrote these songs. And many of the singers on this particular album are young, in their 20s--just as was Berlin, when he wrote these songs. Oh, we have a few older seasoned veterans of Broadway, Off-Broadway, film, and TV I really like--such as Eric Johnson, Michael Townsend Wright, and Desi Waters--who are just right for certain songs.
"But so many of the songs on this particular album have a youthful feel, we've got terrific younger performers putting them over--like Matthew Nardozzi (from Broadway's 'Inherit the Wind' and 'Dracula'), Analise Scarpaci ('Matilda'), George Franklin ('A Christmas Story'), Dea Julien ('West Side Story'). Many of the singers on the album have shone in shows of my own--Emily Bordonaro, Peter Charney, and Jack Saleeby were in my 'Seven Little Foys,' for example. Mary Cantoni Johnson and Chloe Brooks starred in my 'One Night with Fanny Brice.' Timothy Thompson and Jonah Barricklo were in my 'Irving Berlin Ragtime Revue,' Katherine Paulsen was in 'Mad About the Boy.' And many more are regulars on my recording projects--Dylan Adams, Mariah Hill, Alec Deland, Jenn Spottz, Jeffrey Sewell, Julia Franklin, Ryan Muska, Magnus Tonning Riise, Katie Buddenhagen, Kelsey McCabe, Marcus Bedinger. I'm proud to have them in my informal repertory company of players." Richard Danley is music director. Frank Avellino did graphic design. Don Brown handled music preparation. Peter-Michael Marino and Lance Jonathan were aides-de-camp. Slau Halatyn served as recording engineer.
The album includes ragtime-era songs by Berlin that have never before been recorded, plus others that may have been recorded once or twice over a century ago, but have gotten lost or forgotten with the passage of time. "There's a lot of joy, a lot of vitality in these early songs of Berlin," Deffaa says. "We're having a great deal of fun doing this ongoing Berlin project! My goal is to eventually record virtually all of the unrecorded Berlin songs."
It's a busy time for Deffaa, who--in addition to launching the new album and his new show, "Irving Berlin: In Person" at the 13th Street Rep in New York City--has two other productions about to open this month in the tri-state region. Deffaa's "One Night with Fanny Brice," starring Mary Cantoni Johnson (which all features some songs by Berlin), will be at the Square Foot Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut, and Deffaa's "Irving Berlin's America," co-starring William Group and Matt Mooney, will be at O'Connell & Company, in Snyder, New York.<
For Record Store Day 2026, Republic Records will release a special vinyl edition of Wicked: One Wonderful Night, the live soundtrack of the 2025 NBC special.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions has announced the first-ever release of Vince Guaraldi's complete soundtrack for 'It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown,' the 15th animated Peanuts special.
Prestige Classics' release of Frank Wildhorn's The Symphonic Suites will bring to audiences world-famous melodies from four iconic Wildhorn shows including Dracula and Jekyll & Hyde.
Literature to Life will launch BOOKS UNITE, a series of free community events in Paterson, NJ, featuring performances, book clubs, and workshops aimed at fostering community engagement through literature.
In his first book, Opening Doors: Reimagining the American Musical, John Doyle reflects on the 50-year theatrical journey taken by a boy who never dreamt it could happen to him.
Capitol Records will release a special vinyl pressing of the Bridgerton Season 4 soundtrack, featuring Vitamin String Quartet's classical covers of songs from Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, and more.
BroadwayWorld is now accepting nominations for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Stage Recording Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in theatrical and performance-based recordings released during the 2025 calendar year.
To commemorate the release of his memoir Devout, singer-songwriter David Archeleta will embark on a book tour, with stops in New York City, Boston, Chicago, and more.
xProducers Tom Hulce, Robert Ahrens and The Shubert Organization along with Creative Partners Productions have just announced that Chess will record a Broadway cast album on Monday, January 26, 2026.
In this video, legendary composer Marc Shaiman sits down with Robert Bannon to celebrate his brand-new book Never Mind the Happy—a hilarious, heartfelt, and no-holds-barred look at a life in music, collaboration, and controlled chaos.
Author and Broadway star Andrew Keenan-Bolger is making YA debut with Limelight, a poignant coming-of-age novel about identity, first love, and the power of the arts to help young people feel seen.
On the eighth anniversary of the 2018 Hawaii missile scare, the musical THIS IS NOT A DRILL, inspired by the event, is now available for licensing to theaters.
BroadwayWorld is now accepting nominations for the BroadwayWorld Stage Recording Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in theatrical and performance-based recordings released during the 2025 calendar year.
Jack White has officially published Jack White Collected Lyrics and Selected Writing Volume 1, available now at Third Man physical storefronts, online, and booksellers in the United States.
Song Sung Blue, starring Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, will be available to buy or rent on digital platforms in January of 2026, and on Blu-ray and DVD in February 2026.
The cast and creative team of Broadway’s current revival of Ragtime had their first listen of the show’s official Broadway cast album at a listening party.
Blue Moon, Richard Linklater's portrait of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart, will be available on Blu-ray on January 27 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The audiobook of Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner, a memoir written by Marc Shaiman, is slated for release on the same day as print publication.
Grammy-winning producer, guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli will celebrate the centennial of iconic singer Tony Bennett with a pair of heartfelt tributes.
The weather outside might be frightful for a while, but what better time to stay in and snuggle up with a great Broadway read? This season, Broadway's best have put pen to paper to turn out theatre page-turners of every kind.
About the Album: ASCAP Award-winning playwright/producer Chip Deffaa's latest album, "Irving Berlin: Ragtime Rarities," will be released on November 20th. The CD, featuring an all-star New York cast performing two dozen rare--and, in many cases, never-before-recorded--ragtime numbers, is the 24th CD Deffaa has produced and the tenth dealing with master songwriter Irving Berlin. The album--which will be available from Amazon, CDBaby, iTunes, Google Music Shop, Footlight Records etc--is being launched on the 20th at Deffaa's base in New York, the 13th Street Repertory Theater. The album complements shows about Berlin that Deffaa has staged at that theater.
