1918: A HOUSE DIVIDED Original Cast Recording Gets CD Release

Make Haste Records will officially release the Original Cast Recording of 1918: A House Divided, an original musical drama set in New York City during World War I. The CD is currently available at cdbaby.com, as well as via digital download at iTunes.

1918: A House Divided, book and lyrics by Barbara Kahn, music and arrangements by Allison Tartalia, premiered at Theater for the New City for a limited run in April 2007. Set against the backdrop of the first World War, the central conflicts in 1918: A House Divided remain surprisingly relevant today: a hotly debated war; legislation branding dissenters as unpatriotic; anti-foreign sentiments inspiring anti-immigration laws; families torn apart by generational conflicts; lesbians and gays finding each other in Greenwich Village; music and art flourishing in New York City. Against this all-too-familiar landscape, the youngest daughter of a Russian Jewish immigrant family finds herself disowned when she falls for the female pianist at the local nickelodeon, and art school friends struggle with what to do when one of them is drafted into the war. The original music by Allison Tartalia evokes the time period, from patriotic tunes to Yiddish flavored ethnic melodies to ragtime and more.

The original cast recording of 1918: A House Divided features performances by Robert Gonzales Jr., Victoria Lavington, Dan Leeds, Victoria Levin, Kyle J. Martin, Matthew Naclerio, Rick Redondo, Kelly Scanlon, Erin Leigh Schmoyer, Laura Jean Smith, Jeanie Tse, Tina Ward, and Faith Wu. As in the original production, many of the cast members as the orchestra on this recording.

Barbara Kahn is a multi-award winning playwright. Her honors include the Torch of Hope Award for lifetime achievement in non-profit theatre, whose past recipients include Terrence McNally, August Wilson, Horton Foote, A.R. Gurney and other theater luminaries. She most recently was named best playwright in the Fresh Fruit International Festival. She has directed plays in New York, Paris and The National Theatre in London.www.barbara-kahn.com

Allison Tartalia is a composer, instrumentalist and touring singer-songwriter. Her debut CD, Ready, was enthusiastically received by critics, and songs from that album have been honored by the Indiegrrl, Billboard and John Lennon songwriting contests. She recently scored the music for the documentary film 5,000 Miles From Home with JoAnn Robertozzi, and she is currently working on her second solo CD. www.allisontartalia.com.

Website for 1918: A House Divided: http://www.myspace.com/1918themusical
CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby/ahd