About the Album: Maverick British director John Doyle, a 2006 Tony Award winner, enjoyed a surprise Broadway hit last year with his radical reworking of Sweeney Todd. He dispensed with the pit orchestra and handed all the instruments over to his on-stage performers, who doubled as musicians in between their turns acting and singing. Doyle has taken a similarly unorthodox approach to his revival of another Stephen Sondheim classic, the revered yet notoriously difficult to stage Company. As with Sweeney Todd, the results of this theatre-as-concert have entranced both critics and audiences. Linda Winer of Newsday called it "the very best revival that Broadway has ever seen of Stephen Sondheim's landmark 1970 musical."Variety described it as "striking, revelatory and thoroughly compelling." For Sondheim fans, the recorded score to Company has long been as much an object of adoration as the six-time Tony-winning play itself. Company on disc functions as a deeply moving song cycle, even apart from George Furth's libretto, about the vicissitudes of marriage and the joys and trials of the single life, seen through the eyes of the coolly dispassionate Manhattan bachelor Bobby on the occasion of his 35th birthday. This is truly the stuff of sex and the city - wry, sophisticated, painfully honest and deeply melancholy, even in a comic seducing-the-stewardess duet like "Barcelona." As with Sweeney Todd, which featured a bravura performance from lead actor Michael Cerveris, Doyle has found in rising star Ra̼l Esparza (Cabaret, Taboo, The Normal Heart) an extraordinary singer and actor who, in the words of the New York Times' Ben Brantley, gives Company "the most compelling center it has probably ever had." "Mr. Doyle and his invaluable music supervisor and orchestrator, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, have shaped Company into a sort of oratorio for the church of the lonely," says Brantley. He also praises the work of the entire ensemble - playing five married couples, three single women and one deeply ambivalent, unmarried man: "It's their work as a team that sounds new depths in Company in ways that get under your skin without your knowing it." Variety's David Rooney concurs: "Angel Desai's `Another Hundred People' nails that quintessential New York song; Heather Laws lands every laugh in the mile-a-minute `Getting Married Today' with amazing speed and clarity; and Barbara Walsh is bone-dry as brittle, world-weary Joanne. She reveals the emotional hunger beneath the character's hard shell and adds fresh nuances to `The Ladies Who Lunch,' a song indelibly associated with Elaine Stritch." As Time Out New York put it, "Sondheim's expert musical etchings, his acid craftsmanship, remain unmatched." Sondheim fans will note that this new version of Company, to be released by Nonesuch and PS Classics, restores the original act one closer, "Marry Me A Little," which was dropped from the show before its 1970 Broadway debut; the song has since taken on a life of its own as an orphaned Sondheim gem. The Company cast album is produced by PS Classics co-founder Tommy Krasker (Sondheim's The Frogs, Saturday Night, Assassins, and Sweeney Todd, among others). Along with Company, Nonesuch has also released the original cast album to Doyle's 2006 production of Sweeney Todd and the Tony-nominated A Light in the Piazza, which features a score by Nonesuch artist Adam Guettel.
Label: Nonesuch
Jazz Artist Bob Holz Signs With SoVibe Entertainment
by Blair Ingenthron
- October 13, 2024
Jazz artist Bob Holz signed with SoVibe Entertainment and will release a new album in 2025 honoring guitar legend Larry Coryell. His work is featured in the September 2024 issue of Downbeat Magazine.
Composer Rick Sowash To Debut A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS For Flute, Cello, and Piano on Digital EP Next Month
by Blair Ingenthron
- October 13, 2024
For holiday listening, Cincinnati's Rick Sowash, a prolific, self-described 'outsider composer' with some 500 published scores to his credit, will release the world-premiere recording of the whimsical 'A Pirate's Christmas,' his newest trio for flute, cello, and piano, as part of a digital-only seasonal EP available November 8, 2024.
Exclusive: Read an Excerpt from Eric Idle's THE SPAMALOT DIARIES
by Nicole Rosky
- October 11, 2024
Crown released The Spamalot Diaries, the inside story of what it took to bring Monty Python and the Holy Grail to Broadway as the unlikely theatrical hit Spamalot, as told through actual diaries from the legendary comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and New York Times bestselling author Eric Idle. Check out an excerpt here!
Video: Take a Look Inside Allyson Briggs' New Album
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- October 11, 2024
Explore the behind-the-scenes documentary of Allyson Briggs as she celebrates the release of her new Burt Bacharach album, PROMISES, PRAYERS, AND RAINDROPS, offering an intimate look at her creative process.
New Collectible Vinyl of EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL Out Now
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- October 04, 2024
A delightfully disturbing homage to the iconic “Evil Dead” film franchise, theater fans, die-hard Deadites, and collectors can purchase “Evil Dead The Musical Original Cast Recording” on vinyl or stream the album. Learn how to purchase.
Photos: SUFFS Cast Album CD Release Event
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- October 02, 2024
On Monday, September 30 Suffs hosted a special cast album CD release event at the Public Theater, featuring Tony Award winner Shaina Taub and members of the Broadway company of Suffs. See photos from the event here!
Listen: IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, TYLER PRICE! Concept Album Out Now
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- October 01, 2024
An original musical concept album, inspired by Ben Decter and Kristin Hanggi's production It’s All Your Fault, Tyler Price! is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, and other music streaming platforms. Listen now!
Interview: Grover Dale Reflects on a Life in the Theater
by Team BWW
- October 03, 2024
Grover Dale’s life story reads like the ultimate show bio. After all, there are few performers who can count the original Broadway production of West Side Story among their credits. Or say that Sir Noel Coward hand picked them to appear in one of his musicals.
Dua Lipa Reveals October Service95 Book Club Monthly Read
by Josh Sharpe
- October 01, 2024
Dua Lipa’s Service95 Book Club reveals details about October’s Monthly Read: Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders. The Service95 Book Club will offer exclusive content from Dua and George throughout the month.
Playwright Erika Kathryn to Join Next Stage Press
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- October 01, 2024
Playwright Erika Kathryn has signed a deal with Next Stage Press to publish her stage play THE CHEATER EATER. Kathryn, an award-winning screenwriter and author, has five novels and multiple screenplays to her name. Learn more!
Gitte Tamar Releases New Psychological Horror Novel SINEW AND BONE
by Blair Ingenthron
- September 28, 2024
BTW LLC has announced the release of Sinew and Bone, the newest psychological horror novel by author Gitte Tamar. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats, this haunting tale is set to captivate fans of horror, psychological thrillers, historical fiction, and more.
Listen: CelloVoci Releases First Single 'The Prayer'
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- September 27, 2024
CelloVoci – the newly formed classical-crossover group starring internationally renowned cello and vocal duo BRANDEN & JAMES, along with powerhouse singer/songwriter EFFIE PASSERO from “American Idol” and Postmodern Jukebox – has released their first single, an epic version of the chart-topper 'The Prayer'. Listen now.
Linedy Genao & More to be Featured in CAFE CON LECHE Concept EP
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- September 27, 2024
In honor of Hispanic Heritage month and as part of Theatre Barn Records, New York Theatre Barn will release a concept EP of the original musical Café Con Leche. The album features Linedy Genao. Learn more about the album.
Adrienne Warren to Make Cafe Carlyle Debut in December
by Chloe Rabinowitz
- September 27, 2024
Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren, known for her performances in Tina - The Tina Turner Musical and much more, is set to make her debut at Cafe Carlyle in December. Learn more about what to expect from the performances and see how to purchase tickets.
Back to Upcoming Releases...
|