Grammy and Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik talked to USA Today about his new CD, Whisper House in today's issue.
The collection of songs was written for a forthcoming theatrical piece. Whisper House marks Sheik's first solo album since 2006's White Limousine and comes on the heels of the success of the Broadway musical Spring Awakening. On Whisper House, Sheik employs a narrative approach to songwriting, combining elements of the chamber pop that first brought him critical and commercial acclaim.
Much like Spring Awakening, which the New York Times praised as a deft blend of straight-up rock, folk and melodic pop, Whisper House is just as much a pop record as it is a musical theatre composition.
Structured as a melodrama, each of the 10 songs on the album weave together to tell the story of a child's grief and spinster's longing as seen through the eyes of the ghosts that haunt the remote, World War II-era Maine lighthouse where they live. Singer-keyboardist Holly Brooke plays a prominent role alongside Sheik on several of the songs.
This winter Sheik will perform the Whisper House songs on the road.. The tracklist includes; "It's Better to Be Dead", "We're Here to Tell You", "And Now We Sing", "The Tale of Solomon Snell", "Earthbound Starlight", "Play Your Part", "You've Really Gone and Done It Now", "How It Feels", "I Don't Believe In You", "Take A Bow".
To read the interview visit here.After an amazing run from Off-Broadway sleeper to Tony © Award-, winning Best Musical Spring Awakening, the groundbreaking musical hit, will close Sunday, January 18, following the 7pm performance.
This fall marked the launch of the First National Touring Company, which premiered at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco and opens in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre on October 30th.The tour's upcoming schedule includes Tempe, AZ, Chicago, Boston, Tampa, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington, DC among many other stops and is currently booked through the end of 2009.
Spring Awakening broke barriers when it opened off Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre and then subsequently moved to Broadway and its home at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.
When Spring Awakening closes on January 18, it will have played 859 performances and 29 previews. Its eight 2007 Tony© Awards, including Best Musical, made Spring Awakening one of the biggest Tony winners in the past decade. In addition to the Tony Award wins, Spring Awakening won four Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the NY Drama Critics Award for Best Musical, the Drama League award for Distinguished Production of a Musical, and the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, among other notable citations.
Spring Awakening's current performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday & Sunday at 7 pm, Wednesday-Saturday at 8 pm, Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. For information and tickets, call Telecharge.com at 212 239-6200. The musical is playing at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, 230 West 49th Street*
