Fangirls: World Premiere Cast Recording 2021

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About the Album: FANGIRLS follows the story of Edna. She’s fourteen, awkward, blisteringly smart and, also, in love with a boy called Harry. The only problem is, so are 38 million other people – because Harry’s in the world’s biggest boy band: True Connection. When Harry’s band announces a show in her hometown, Edna knows that this is her ONE chance to try to meet Harry and save him from his miserable overworked life. But just how far will she go in the name of love? With a dazzling cast, inexhaustibly witty dialogue, and a score best described as a “Pop Concert meets Rave meets Church,” FANGIRLS is a subversive musical comedy about how we ask young women to see themselves. Whether or not you’ve ever been a fan, FANGIRLS will move you, because this is a story about feeling underestimated, and choosing to love without apology.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS goes down under with the announcement that the label will present their first-ever Australian cast album. FANGIRLS: World Premiere Cast Recording – based on the award-winning Australian stage musical sensation – will be released in digital and streaming formats on Friday, April 30. Featuring book, musical and lyrics by wunderkind Yve Blake, the show will continue its blockbuster, sold-out Australian national tour at Arts Centre Melbourne from April 28 to May 9. Plans are underway to bring this audience and critics’ darling around the world. The album was produced and mixed by David Muratore, and features vocal arrangements by Alice Chance. Zara Stanton serves as music director, and she provides additional vocal arrangements. The show’s dramaturg is Jonathan Ware. The origin of the show is explained in Yve’s viral TED Talk “For the Love of Fangirls,” which has been viewed over one million times. Customers can pre-order or pre-save the album starting on Friday, April 16.

The musical received stellar reviews at every stop on its Australian tour. The Sydney Morning Herald noted the “fans literally standing and screaming in the aisles” and raved “Like teenage girls, this show is destined to go far.” The Australian Arts review went so far as to describe it as “pure serotonin,” calling the show “undeniably one of the most perfectly crafted Australian works to hit the stage.” As Time Out Melbourne warned, “you’re probably going to have some trouble getting the melodies out of your head.” The Courier Mail said, “when FANGIRLS was over, two things happened — the audience gave a standing ovation, and I wanted to give the 14-year-old-version of myself a big hug. Do yourself a favour, please see this show.”

FANGIRLS received the prestigious 2020 AWGIE Award for Music Theatre from the Australian Writers’ Guild, and was honored with two 2019 Sydney Theatre Awards, including “Best Production of a Mainstage Musical.” The show also scored “Best Musical” at Queensland’s 2019 Matilda Awards.

Show creator Yve Blake comments, “When I was 14, coated in acne, and having a weird time at school, the cast albums of In the Heights and Legally Blonde got me through. Frankly, those albums are the reason that I started writing musicals. To think that Ghostlight Records, the same label that made those albums is now going to release the cast recording for my show – which is about how hard it is to be a 14-year old girl – shakes me to my core.”

“I wanted this show to be a Trojan Horse,” she continues. “FANGIRLS looks like a comedy about girls who love boy bands, but this show is actually about how we ask young women to see themselves. Why do we use words like ‘hysterical’ to describe Fangirls screaming at pop concerts, but use terms like ‘passionate’ to describe young men screaming at a football game? Why do we ridicule the interests of young women? This show is about the challenges of being a teenager, and it's a love letter to the true, unlimited power of teenage girls.”

Kurt Deutsch, the label’s founder, adds: “The arts in New York may have been dormant over the past year, but in Australia, theatre is booming. One of the main reasons for that is Yve Blake’s new show FANGIRLS. It’s the next step in the movement of fresh, pop-infused musical theater that made audience-driven viral hits like Be More Chill, Beetlejuice, and Six such phenomenons. We here at Ghostlight are so excited to shine a light on this wonderful creation. Soon the rest of the world will experience the powerful tunes, memorable hooks, and the youthful energy that make the piece so special. The future is bright for Yve and FANGIRLS.”

The album features cast members Yve Blake as Edna, Chika Ikogwe as Jules, Kimberley Hodgson as Brianna, James Majoos as Saltypringl, Sharon Millerchip as Caroline, Ayesha Madon as Lily, and Blake Appelqvist as Harry.