Broadway veteran Donna Lynne Champlin (Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliot: The Musical, By Jeeves) has announced the track listing for her debut solo album, "Old Friends," due December 1, 2009 from Parting Glass Productions. Produced and arranged by the singer-actress, the album is an amalgamation of theatre and film songs, country tunes and pub songs, filtered through the singer/songwriter influences of her life experiences.
Recorded over a six-week hiatus from Billy Elliot due to a fractured ankle, Donna Lynne took on the daunting task of recording a solo album for $1,000, chronicling the warts-and-all creation of it on her blog, peppered with her trademark wit and four-letter words. Of the creation, Donna Lynne said "I have dreamed of making a solo album since I was five years old. While being the sole producer, musical arranger, singer, musician, mixer, master and PR agent on this album has been at times hilariously overwhelming... it has also allowed me to make this CD exactly as I have wished, and without compromise. Every song, every minor instrumentation and even the design of the CD cover are choices that I have agonized over and stand behind 100%. Being my own boss is an artistic luxury I have not known since I was a teenager and I have unapologetically reveled in it. With all that said, what was the most rewarding experience of this whole adventure was to be the humble recipient of so many other people' s generosity. I still can't wrap my mind around the endless bounty of selflessness that has been showered on me by so many amazing people. From monetary donations, to pre-orders, to offers of talent and skill and advice, to even the occasional encouraging email this whole experience has massively heightened my humility regarding the goodness of others. And I believe in my heart that the quality and the emotional heartbeat of the music on this CD reflects the warmth and spirit of everyone involved. This CD truly took a village... and I am beyond proud that my name is the on the sign post as you enter our little musical town."
"Old Friends" is currently available for pre-orders at www.donnalynnechamplin.com, and will be available at all online sources, including Amazon.com and iTunes on December 1st.
The track listing for "Old Friends" is:
1. "Hard Times Come Again No More"
2. "Eiffel Tower" (from The Blue Flower)
3. "Smile"
4. "Only Hope" (from A Walk To Remember)
5. "Cry" (from Love Jerry)
6. "County Fair" (from Das Barbecü)
7. "Once Upon a December" (from Anastasia)
8. "Where've You Been?"
9. "I Cried For Us"
10. "Still Hurting" (from The Last Five Years)
11. "When She Loved Me" (from Toy Story II)
12. "From God's Arms to My Arms to Yours"
13. "When Eleanor Smiles" (from First Lady Suite)
14. "When The End Comes" (from The Zero Club)
15. "The Parting Glass"
Donna Lynne Champlin made her Broadway debut in James Joyce's The Dead, and appeared to great acclaim in Hollywood Arms, By Jeeves, and as Pirelli in the John Doyle directed Sweeney Todd. Her other NYC credits include Very Warm For May (Carnegie Hall), Bloomer Girl (Encores), Reunion, First Lady Suite, Bury the Dead and My Life With Albertine. She won a 2007 OBIE Award for her performance in The Dark At The Top of the Stairs, and a 2008 NYMF Outstanding Individual Performance Award for her performance in Love Jerry. She has also performed her acclaimed one-woman show Finishing The Act at Ars Nova and The Laurie Beechman Theatre. She appears on numerous cast albums and recordings, and is currently in the cast of Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Imperial Theatre. For more information, visit www.donnalynnechamplin.com
Photo credit: Mark Rupp
