Sound Advice
Schedule of New & Upcoming CD, DVD & Book Releases

Updated 3/5/24

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The next update will be published on March 19

Cinderella Rock
(Todrick Hall Musicals - new digital album)
Studio cast album of score by Todrick Hall. Cynthia Erivo, Nicole Scherzinger, Shoshana Bean, Laura Bell Bundy, Cheyenne Jackson, Taylor Louderman, Adam Pascal, Solea Pfeiffer, Jordin Sparks, and Teresa Stanley. "Once Upon a Time," "If the Shoe Fits," "Believe in Make Believe," "I'm a Star," "Miss Heartbreaker," "A Little Help From a Friend," "I Can't Wish Much More," "A Miracle or Two," "A Miracle or Two (Reprise) / Notice Me," "Officially in Love," "Marry Me a Prince," "Fly Away," "Don't Forget to Dream." Released 2/27/24.

Figaro: An Original Musical
(Center Stage Records - new digital album)
World premiere cast recording of "West End bound" musical. Score by Jana (book by Ashley Jana and Will Nunziata). Cayleigh Capaldi, Mauricio Martínez, Ashley Jana, Lily Bell Morgan, Benjamin Pajak, T. Oliver Reid, and Jayke Workman. Produced by Ashley Jana, Will Nunziata, Van Dean, Mia Moravis. Andrew Byrnes and Tony Award nominee Michael Lamon are Associate Producers. 27 tracks. Released 3/1/24.

Letters from an Actor: Anniversary Edition
(Applause - revised edition in Paperback)
By William Redfield. Foreword by Sam Mendes. Afterword by Adam Redfield. William Redfield's (Guildenstern) series of letters describing the daily happenings and his impressions of them during the three months of preparation for the 1964 Hamlet, from rehearsals through out-of-town tryouts to the gala opening night on Broadway. New edition brings Redfield's classic back into print, as The Motive and the Cue, the Sam Mendes-directed play about the Gielgud production that is based in part on the book, continues its run in the West End. 264 pages.

Most Likely Not To ...
(Center Stage Records - new digital album)
Official cast album recording of songs by Greg Dean Borowsky, James Ian, Peter Mills, Katya Stanislavskaya, and Melvin Tunstall III. Cast includes Lauryn Adams, Darilyn Castillo, Andrew Chappelle, Sarah Dacey Charles, Bryan Cortes, James Ian, Cedric Leiba Jr., Alexis Loiselle, Joel Manuel, Phil Sloves, Yasmeen Suliman, Jesse Swimm, Melvin Tunstall III, Natalie Weiss, Allie Williams, and Jessy Yates. 13 members of the SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) community played a role in the development of this show, including seven people living with SMA and six non-disabled caregivers who serve as SMA advocates. "A Travel Day," "Like We Care," "Take Me Back," "SPACES," "Start Again," "Take Me Back (Reprise)." Adam Pryor and mixed by Grammy Award nominee Michael J. Moritz Jr. Six tracks. Released 3/1/24.

Oz, the Musical
(Todrick Hall Musicals - new digital album)
Studio cast recording of score by Todrick Hall. Nick Rashad Burroughs, Gavin Creel, Brandon Victor Dixon, Telly Leung, and Rachel Potter, Sutton Foster, Todrick Hall, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Jade Novah, and Bill Porter. "No Place Like Home," "Someday," "Party in Munchkinland," "55 Miles," "B-R-A-N-E," "Feel That Music," "I Need a Lion," "Halfway There," "It's Gotta Be Green," "Witch of the West Side," "I'm Ready."

Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Renaissance
(The Kent State Univ Press - Paperback Book)
By John Vacha. In-depth account of Cleveland's Playhouse Square (originally the State, Ohio, Hanna, Allen, and Palace theaters) history, beginning with the 1921 opening, through the darkening of four of their marquees by the end of the 1960s, the renovation and renaissance from the 1970s, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Illustrated and featuring interviews with the central figures involved in saving the Square. 240 pages. [Appears to be available ahead of announced release date.]

Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)

(new EP)
UK cast recording of score from musical by Sam Tutty and Dujonna Gift. "New York," "What'll It Be," "Dad," "This Is The Place," "Be Happy," "About To Go In," "This Year," "If I Believed." Making West End debut April 2024. Released 2/21/24.


March 8, 2024

The Color Purple
(Watertower Music - new 2-CD set/vinyl)
Soundtrack from 2023 musical film. Songs from the stage musical by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray; and songs by Alicia Keys, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Megan Thee Stallion, Jennifer Hudson, Tamela Mann, Mörda, Brenden Praise, Keyshia Cole, Ludmilla, Jorja Smith, Coco Jones, Mary Mary, Missy Elliott, H.E.R, Fantasia, and Ciara. Cast includes Fantasia, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, H.E.R. "Workin'," "Hell No!," "Shug Avery," "Dear God - Shug," "Push Da Button," "What About Love?," "Agoo," "Hell No! (Reprise)," "Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)," "Miss Celie's Pants," "I'm Here," "Maybe God Is Tryin' To Tell You Somethin'," "The Color Purple," "Superpower." Digital released 12/15/23.


March 12, 2024

The Long Revolution: Sixty Years on the Frontlines of a New American Theater
(Theatre Communications Group - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
By Zelda Fichandler. Todd London, editor. Content from sixty years of essays, speeches, and manifestos by the founding mother of the resident professional theatre movement. Founder and artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and chair of New York University’s Graduate Acting program. Gathers Fichandler’s most prescient writing about that movement, ranging over such topics as The Institution as Art-Work, the Profit in NonProfit, Race and a Deepening Aesthetic, and Creativity and the Public Mind. Also includes intimate portraits of artists with whom she frequently collaborated and director’s notes from the major productions that defined her vision. 320 pages.

U.G.L.Y. the Moo-sical
(Todrick Hall Musicals - new digital album)
Score by Todrick Hall. Kristin Chenoweth, Carlie Craig, and Todrick Hall, Nick Adams, J. Harrison Ghee, Derek Klena, Tiffany Mann, Orfeh, Colleen Ballinger, Mari Maupin, Cheyenne Isabel Wells. 10 tracks.


March 15, 2024

Jane Scheckter: I'll Take Romance
(Doxie Records - new album)
Songs include "Isn't It a Pity," "If Love Were All," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," "A Beautiful Friendship," "Love I Hear," "A Song for Bill Evans," "Looking Back."


March 19, 2024

42 Balloons
(new EP)
Studio cast recording of score by Jack Godfrey. Cast includes Charlie McCullagh, Evelyn Hoskins, Gillian Hardie, and Lejaun Sheppard. The show will run at The Lowry in Salford, Manchester UK starting in April. Eight tracks.


March 22, 2024

Edith Piaf, Je Vous Aime
(Stage Door Records - new on CD)
Part of Stage Door Records' Cast Album Masters Series. Musical revue devised by Canadian performer Libby Morris, based around the songs of Piaf, specially adapted into English by American lyricist and poet Fran Landesman (with additional lyrics by Peter Reeves and Ronnie Bridges). Opened at London's King's Head Theatre in February 1977. Starring, with Morris, Maureen Scott, Peter Reeves, and Clifton Todd. 37 songs were recorded in April 1977 and produced by Norman Newell. Released as a 2LP set. Limited release of 500 copies. StageDoorRecords.com.

Rosie the Musical
(Absolute Label - new on CD [import])
Studio cast recording of score by Chris Broom. Cast includes Desmonda Cathabel, Lucy Thomas, Will Callan, Nora Thomas. The show follows Rosie Boot, a convent-educated Irish girl who joins the chorus line at London's Gaiety Theatre in the Strand at the turn of the last century.


March 26, 2024

PRISM Quartet: Heritage/Evolution Vol. 3
(XAS Records - new album)
Saxophone quartet Timothy McAllister (soprano), Zachary Shemon (alto), Matthew Levy (tenor), Taimur Sullivan (baritone). With Melissa Aldana, Tim Ries, Terell Stafford, Miguel Zenón. "Send in the Clowns," "Found," "Favor," "Reflections," "Resumen de Otoño," "El Atardecer," "Una Carta de Amor," "Con La Primavera," "Un Breve Amor."


March 29, 2024

White Girl in Danger
(Yellow Sound Label - new digital album)
Original cast album of score by Michael R. Jackson. Based on last year's co-production from Vineyard Theatre and Second Stage Theater. Rocky Anicette, Liz Lark Brown, LaDonna Burns, Alexis Cofield, Kayla Davion, Shane Donovan, Latoya Edwards, Jennifer Fouché, Morgan Siobhan Green, Molly Hager, Ciara Alyse Harris, Vincent Jamal Hooper, James Jackson Jr., Tarra Conner Jones, Alyse Alan Louis, Lauren Marcus, Jon-Michael Reese, Eric William Morris, and Natalie Walker. Produced by Michael Croiter, Lynne Shankel, and Michael R. Jackson. Co-produced by Meg Zervoulis. Executive producers Salman al-Rashid and Accidental Jacket Entertainment. Orchestrations by Lynne Shankel


April 2, 2024

Broadway Melody
(Benzinger & Frank - new Kindle Edition)
Novel by Jack Viertel. "A show business romance crossing 7000 miles and 70 years..."


April 5, 2024

To Repair the World: Zelda Fichandler and the Transformation of American Theater
(Routledge - Hardcover/Paperback/Kindle Edition)
By Mary B. Robinson. Biography in the form of an oral history about Zelda Fichandler, whose founding of Arena Stage in Washington, DC in 1950 shifted live professional theater away from Broadway and inspired the creation of non-profit theaters around the country. Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, and Jane Alexander, among many others, share their memories of this intrepid pioneering woman during Arena Stage’s early years. Fichandler was Head of New York University’s Graduate Acting Program for 25 years. 368 pages.


April 16, 2024

Clyde's
(Theatre Communications Group - Paperback book/Kindle)
Play by Lynn Nottage. 96 pages.

Plays for the Plague Year
(Theatre Communications Group - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
Collection of plays by Suzan-Lori Parks. Presented at Public Theater in 2023. 112 pages.

The Tony Awards: A Celebration of Excellence in Theatre
(Black Dog & Leventhal - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
Coffee table book by Eila Mell and The American Theatre Wing. Foreword by Audra McDonald. Commemorating over 75 years of Broadway greatness with never-before told stories, rare photos from the American Theatre Wing'a archives, and more than 100 interviews with past and present Tony winners, including actors, producers, writers, and costume designers. 400+ color and black-and-white photographs. 320 pages.


April 18, 2024

The Irish Repertory Theatre: Celebrating Thirty-Five Years Off-Broadway
(Palgrave Macmillan - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
By Maria Szasz. History of the multi-award winning Off-Broadway Irish Repertory Theatre Company, from its beginning in 1988 to its thirty-fifth season in 2023. Considers how the Irish Rep's plays and musicals reflect the Irish diaspora, the relationship between Ireland and America, and what it means to be Irish and Irish American, both historically, and in the twenty-first century. 185 pages.

Song of the Season: Outstanding Broadway Songs since 1891
(Methuen Drama - Hardcover Book/Paperback/Kindle Edition)
By Thomas Hischak. Charts the progress of American showtunes alongside popular music forms as songs evolved from the waltz and ragtime to jazz, rock, rap and hip-hop. Factual analysis and historical context combine to offer a rich picture of the American songbook from Irving Berlin to Elton John. 440 pages.


April 19, 2024

Stephen Schwartz Collection
(Westway Music - new on deluxe CD/vinyl)
With West End performers. Conceived and produced by Rhydian Roberts and Stephen Schwartz.


April 23, 2024

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent
(St. Martin's Press - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition/Audible Audiobook)
By Judi Dench and Brendan O'Hea. Judi Dench opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career in a series of intimate conversations with actor and director Brendan O'Hea. Interspersed with vignettes on audiences, critics, company spirit and rehearsal room etiquette, she serves up priceless revelations on everything from the craft of speaking in verse to her personal interpretations of some of Shakespeare's most famous scenes. Previously released in paperback.


April 25, 2024

The Great Gatsby: The 1926 Broadway Script
(Cambridge Univ Press - new Hardcover Book)
James L. W. West III and Anne Margaret Daniel, editors. Script for Owen Davis' adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. The show played the Ambassador Theatre in 1926. Photographs of the original sets and actors, reviews. 150 pages.


April 26, 2024

Days of Wine and Roses
(Nonesuch - new on CD)
Original Off-Broadway (and Broadway) cast recording of score by Adam Guettel (book by Craig Lucas). Sharon Catherine Brown, Bill English, Olivia Hernandez, Brian d'Arcy James, Byron Jennings, David Jennings, Ted Koch, Ella Dane Morgan, Kelli O'Hara. "There Go I," "Evanesce," "Sammen I Himmeln," "As The Water Loves The Stone," "Are You Blue," "Underdeath," "First Breath," "435," "Morton Salt Girl," "Forgiveness," "Turlycue," "Forgiveness (Reprise)," "Lila Hangs The Moon," "There Go I (Reprise)." Recorded week of 7/24/23. Digital released 12/15/23.


April 30, 2024

Becky Nurse of Salem: A Contemporary Comedy About a Historical Tragedy
(Theatre Communications Group - new Paperback Book)
Play by Sarah Ruhl. Played at Lincoln Center Theater in the fall of 2022. 112 pages.


May 21, 2024

On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide
(Oxford Univ Press - Hardcover Book)
By Kevin Winkler. Traces the early development of Midler's performing ethos from New York's downtown experimental theater scene and examines her impact across media, with chapters on the soaring highs (and occasional cringe-worthy lows) of her stage work, movies, recordings, and television appearances, and considers her influence as an environmental activist and social media presence. Features performance analysis and deeply researched background information, all supporting informed - and divinely opinionated - consideration of Midler the artist. 224 pages.

Too Funny for Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television, and the Movies
(Viva Editions - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
By Jerry Adler. The author recounts his career as a theater director, producer and actor that has spanned over 70 years. 240 pages.


May 24, 2024

Tom Ball: Curtain Call
(Westway Music - new album)
Debut album from former Britain's Got Talent and "America's Got Talent" star Tom Ball. "Intro," "Writing's on the Wall," "Feeling Good," "The Best Part," "Stand By Me ft The Inner Voices," "Bring Him Home," "Goodbye ft Lucie Jones," "Let Me Live," "Can't Help Falling In Love," "Seize The Day," "Winter Song," "Home Again," "I (Who Have Nothing)."

Yankee Doodle Dandy: George M. Cohan and the Broadway Stage
(Oxford Univ Press - Hardcover Book)
By Elizabeth T. Craft. Part of the Broadway Legacies series. In the first book on Cohan in fifty years, Craft situates Cohan as a central figure of his day. Examining his multifaceted contributions and the various sociocultural identities he came to embody, Craft shows how Cohan and his works indelibly shaped the American cultural landscape. 288 pages.


June 3, 2024

Closer than Ever: The Unique Six-Decade Songwriting Partnership of Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire
(Oxford Univ Press - Hardcover Book)
By Joshua Rosenblum. Chronicles the sixty-six-year (and counting) partnership of Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire, with behind-the-scenes accounts of their musicals interspersed with analyses of standout individual numbers. 304 pages.


September 17, 2024

The Third Gilmore Girl
(Gallery Books - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
Memoir by Kelly Bishop, spanning her six decades in show business from Broadway to Hollywood with A Chorus Line, Dirty Dancing, Gilmore Girls, and much more. Also includes a special collection of personal and professional photographs. 288 pages.


November 26, 2024

Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words
(Liveright - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
By Michael Owen. First full-length biography devoted to the life of Ira Gershwin. Draws on extensive archival sources and often using Ira's own words. 30 illustrations. 400 pages.


Release date unknown

Boop! The Musical
(new album)
Cast recording the score by David Foster and Susan Birkenhead of musical (book by Bob Martin) now playing at CIBC Theatre in Chicago. Cast includes Jasmine Amy Rogers, Faith Prince, Ainsley Melham, Erich Bergen, Stephen DeRosa. Recorded the week of November 12. Details TBA.

Carol Burnett: The Prime Time Specials Collection
(Legendary Entertainment - DVD set)
"Carol + 2" 1966 TV Special, "An Evening with Carol Burnett" 1963 TV Special, "Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall" 1962 TV Special. Details and release date TBA.

Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band
(new double album)
First recording from this band, which "puts both modern and classic showtunes on display, sung by the best and brightest of Broadway's young generation of leading performers, in the timeless tradition of Big Band. A full sized Jazz orchestra composed of 17 musicians play Rosen's re-imagined arrangements of an eclectic mix of tunes from Broadway's past, present, and beyond."

Complete Lyrics of Sheldon Harnick
(new book)

The Connector
(Concord Theatricals - new album)
World premiere Off-Broadway cast recording of score by Jason Robert Brown (book by Jonathan Marc Sherman). Scott Bakula, Max Crumm, Hannah Cruz, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Danielle Lee Greaves, Mylinda Hull, Daniel Jenkins, Jessica Molaskey, Fergie Philippe, Eliseo Román, Ben Levi Ross, Ann Sanders, and Michael Winther. Spring 2024 release expected. Recorded week of 2/14/24 at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Produced by Jeffrey Lesser and Brown, who also serves as arranger, orchestrator, and pianist. Tom Murray is the music director and Kristy Norter is the music coordinator. The band includes Brown, Jamie Eblen, Hidayat Honari, Adam Kaufman, Randy Landau, and Todd Reynolds.

Death Note, The Musical
(Ghostlight Records - new album)
West End Palladium concert cast recording of score by Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy. Orchestrations by Jason Howland. Adam Pascal, Joaquin Pedro Valdes, Dean John Wilson, Aimie Atkinson, Frances Mayli McCann, Rachel Clare Chan, and Christian Ray Marbella. Album produced by Nigel Wright. Co-produced by production musical supervisor, Katy Richardson. Engineered by Nick Pugh. 17 tracks. Release date TBA.

The Gardens of Anuncia
(Ghostlight Records - new album)
Original cast recording of score by John LaChiusa. Enrique Acevedo, Andréa Burns, Eden Espinosa, Priscilla Lopez, Tally Sessions, Mary Testa and Kalyn West. Orchestrations by Michael Starobin. Recorded 12/4/23. Produced by Lawrence Manchester and Michael John LaChiusa. Release date TBA.

Gutenberg! The Musical!
(Center Stage Records/Yellow Sound Label - new on CD)
OBC recording of score by Scott Brown (music/lyrics) and Anthony King (lyrics). Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells. Recorded 1/29/24. Arrangements, and orchestrations are by T.O. Sterrett. Produced and mixed by Michael Croiter. To be released Spring 2024. Now pre-ordering.

Here We Are
(Concord Theatricals Recordings - new album)
Score by Stephen Sondheim (book by David Ives). Cast includes Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O'Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos. Recorded week of January 10, 2024. Produced by Sean Patrick Flahaven and Bill Rosenfield. Release date Spring 2024.

The Jerusalem Syndrome
(JAY Records - new on CD/digital)
Original Off-Broadway (2023 York Theatre Company) cast recording of score by Laurence Holzman, Felicia Needleman, and Kyle Rosen.Farah Alvin, Dana Costello, Scott Cote, Andrea Fleming, James D. Gish, Alan H. Green, Danielle Lee James, John Jellison, Josh Lamon, Garrett Long, Karen Murphy, Jeffrey Schecter, Jennifer Smith, Chandler Sinks, Pablo Torres, Curtis Wiley, Lenny Wolpe, and Laura Woyasz. Digital release expected in January 2024 and CD in March 2024.

Harbinger Records upcoming releases: material from Eubie Blake; download only demos of Hugh Martin and Sheldon Harnick; Steve Ross' back catalog for download;

Larry Kramer authorized biography
(Henry Holt & Co. - new book)
By Bill Goldstein. To include interviews with Kramer and his husband David Webster, along with friends, colleagues, and "foes" plus material from Kramer's archives at Yale University.

Lizard Boy
(new album)
Live recording of 2023 Prospect Theatre cast. Score by Justin Huertas. Cast features Huertas, Kiki deLohr, and William A. Williams. Release date TBA.

The Nutty Professor
(new album)
Studio recording of score by Marvin Hamlisch and Rupert Holmes. Based on the recent Ogunquit Playhouse staging of the musical based on the Jerry Lewis movie.. Cast TBA. 2024 release expected.

Paradise Square OBC
(new on CD/digital)
Broadway cast recording of score Jason Howland (music), Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare (lyrics), with additional music by Larry Kirwan, inspired by the songs of Stephen Foster. Joaquina Kalukango, Chilina Kennedy, John Dossett, Sidney DuPont, A.J. Shively, Nathaniel Stampley, Gabrielle McClinton, Jacob Fishel, Kevin Dennis and Matt Bogart. Produced by Jason Howland and Billy Jay Stein. Recorded at Power Station at BerkleeNYC during the weeks of April 18 and April 25.

Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn
(Yellow Sound Label - new album)
Off-Broadway cast recording. Nikita Burshteyn (Newsies), Anna Kostakis, Carlos Lopez (Man of La Mancha), Michael Marotta (Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical), Judy McLane (Mamma Mia!), Michael Notardonato, Ari Raskin, Troy Valjean Rucker (August Rush), Zach Schanne (Pippin), and Viet Vo (Viet Gone). Lyrics by Mark Saltzman and music adapted from classic Italian melodies. Recorded 2/18/20. Late March release expected.

Suffs
(Atlantic Records - new album)
2022 Public Theater cast recording of score by Shaina Taub. Jenna Bainbridge, Ally Bonino, Tsilala Brock, Jenn Colella, Hannah Cruz, Nadia Dandashi, Aisha de Haas, Amina Faye, Holly Gould, Cassondra James, Nikki M. James, Jaygee Macapugay, Grace McLean, Susan Oliveras, Mia Pak, J. Riley Jr, Phillipa Soo, Shaina Taub, and Ada Westfall. Release date TBA.

Tammy Faye
(new album)
Music by Elton John; lyrics by Jake Shears. Cast from Almeida Theatre debut production. Details TBA.

Titanic
(Stage2View)
Filmed musical, with a score by Maury Yeston, that was shown in cinemas. Now streaming at BroadwayHD, to be available for global streaming 8/1/24, and released in physical format sometime in 2024 with Liberator Films and MVD Entertainment Group.

This Side of the World
(new album)
East West Players cast recording of score by Paulo K Tiról.




-- Sound Advice Staff