Catherine Zeta-Jones to Narrate GPR's THE RUNAWAY BUNNY Recording, Set for Release, 11/15

GPR Records will release a recording of Catherine Zeta-Jones narrating The Runaway Bunny, based on the best selling children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown. Also on the CD will be English Baritone Mark Stone singing Goodnight Moon and a special guest superstar narrating Poulenc's Babar, The Elephant. The CD will be released on November 15th, will be available at www.GPRRecords.com, Amazon, and iTunes.

Catherine Zeta-Jones narrates The Runaway Bunny in a new piano trio version composed by GPR Records artistic director and four-time Emmy Award Winner Glen Roven, RUNAWAY BUNNY has been performed all over the world and narrators have included: Brooke Shields, Glenn Close, Sandy Duncan, Donna McKechnie, Kate Mulgrew, and Phyllis Newman. This piece premiered at Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra, with Glenn Close narrating. Runaway Bunny was written in 1942 and has been published continuously since that time.

Also on the CD will be GOODNIGHT MOON, a lullaby for soprano and orchestra, which is sung by international Opera superstar and English Baritone Mark Stone in the new concerto. GOODNIGHT MOON, A Lullaby for Soprano and Orchestra is based on Wise's book, in print for over 60 years.

"It is such a pleasure to participate in The Runaway Bunny for this recording - it's a wonderful timeless story of free thinking and creativity," said Catherine Zeta-Jones. "I know the importance of music and reading and my hope is that this CD will touch and capture the imagination a new generation."

"Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon are National Treasures and many of us remember them from our childhood," said GPR Records Producer and composer Glen Roven. "Having Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mark Stone really solidifies GPR Records' goal of creating wonderfully new and sophisticated products for children. We're so pleased to be able to honor Margaret Wise Brown with this recording."

Catherine Zeta-Jones is a multi-award winning actress whose talents range from film to theater. She garnered an Academy Award for her portrayal of the notorious Velma Kelly, in the screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Chicago." The film, which won the Oscar and Golden Globe for "Best Picture," also starred Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere. Zeta-Jones was nominated for a Golden Globe and took home the Critics' Choice Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and the BAFTA Award for "Best Supporting Actress" for her performance.

She won the Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Musical for critically acclaimed debut on Broadway as Desirée Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. The musical was a box office success co-starring the legendary Angela Lansbury. Zeta-Jones was most recently seen in the musical "Rock of Ages," directed by Adam Shankman and co-starring with Tom Cruise, Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin. Upcoming she will be seen in Playing the Field," with Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel and Dennis Quaid; "Broken City" with Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe and "Lay the Favorite," with Bruce Willis and Vince Vaughn, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance film festival. Zeta-Jones also just wrapped production in Steve Soderbergh's latest film "Bitter Pill" with Jude Law, Rooney Mara, and Channing Tatum.

In 2005, she reprised her role as Elena de La Vega in "The Legend of Zorro," the sequel to the blockbuster film "The Mask of Zorro." She starred in Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's 12," and prior to that appeared opposite Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal." Zeta-Jones also starred with George Clooney in the Coen Brothers' comedy "Intolerable Cruelty." Her recent films include the Warner Bros' hit romantic comedy "No Reservations," also starring Aaron Eckhart; and the romantic thriller "Death Defying Acts," with Guy Pearce. Zeta-Jones earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of the wife of a drug-runner in Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic." The cast of the critically praised film received a SAG Award for "Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture."

She first captured international recognition in the action adventure film, "The Mask of Zorro,"opposite Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. Zeta-Jones continued to captivate audiences in 1999, in Jon Amiel's romantic-thriller "Entrapment," opposite screen legend Sean Connery. She also starred with Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal and John Cusack in the ensemble comedy "America's Sweethearts."

Born in Wales, Zeta-Jones began her career on the stage in London and following that was cast in the popular Yorkshire Television series, "The Darling Buds of May," based on the novels of H.E. Bates. In 2010, Zeta-Jones was awarded a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to the film industry and charity. Zeta-Jones is married to actor Michael Douglas. They have a son, Dylan, and a daughter, Carys.

Mark Stone is an English baritone who studied mathematics at King's College, Cambridge, and then singing and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

On the operatic stages of his homeland he has sung for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North¸ Glyndebourne Opera, Opera Holland Park, Buxton Festival, Garsington Opera and Grange Park Opera, and overseas he has sung for La Scala Milan, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Cologne, Liceu Barcelona, Leipzig, Stockholm, Montpellier, Netherlands Reisopera, Santa Fe, Philadelphia, Opera Atelier Toronto, Israeli Opera and New Zealand Opera. His operatic roles include Marcello, Belcore, Sonora, Gianni Schicchi, Ashton, Ford, Germont, Don Carlo (Forza), Silvio, Rossini's Figaro, Don Giovanni, Almaviva, Guglielmo, Onegin, Yeletsky, Danilo, Eisenstein, Chou En-lai, Hector, Junius, Sid and Demetrius.

He has sung with leading orchestras at many of the major European concert halls, and he is also busy as a song recitalist, specializing in the English song repertoire. He has performed in recital at London's Wigmore Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall, performing a program of songs by Glen Roven, with the composer accompanying – including Goodnight Moon.

Founding partner in GPR Records, a new recording company devoted to classic and unexpected works. Peter Fitzgerald is a noted Broadway sound designer represented currently by, Looped and All About Me. A prolific designer including last season's: Will Farrell's Your Welcome America, Blithe Spirit, Speed the Plow, and such past designs as: New York Philharmonic's production of My Fair Lady, in 2006 and Camelot in 2007. Billy Joel's Movin' Out, La Cage Aux Folles, Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews, City of Angels, Gypsy, Falsettos, Paul Simon's The Capeman, The Will Rogers Follies, Swing, Minnelli on Minnelli with Liza, Dream, Threepenny Opera with Sting, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas to name a few. Noted plays: The Odd Couple, M. Butterfly, Stones in His Pockets, The Beauty Queen of Leenane and A Thousand Clowns. Peter is President and co-owner of Sound Associates, Inc a premier provider of sound and video systems to the theater and business community with locations is New York, Yonkers, and Atlanta. He was instrumental in developing the recording studio at the New York location, home of GPR Records. Peter and his wife, Maritza, are the proud parents of daughters Lori and Mallori.

Glen Roven, a four-time Emmy winner, recently conducted his Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall and will accompany Baritone Mark Stone this season at Carnegie when Stone performs a full evening of Roven's music. He has conducted The Israel Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, The Munich Philharmonic, The Radio Luxembourg Orchestra, The American Symphony, as well as many others. He has produced for Julie Andrews, Kathleen Battle, Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Aretha Franklin, Kenny G., Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Quincy Jones, Kermit the Frog, Patti LaBelle, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross to name a few. Career highlights include conducting the original Broadway production of Sugar Babies, conducting four Presidential Inaugurations, conducting Frank Sinatra's last television appearance and Sammy Davis Jr,'s last televised appearance. Next season sees the debut of his Broadway musical, Dr. Seuss's The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

Richard Cohen has broad and extensive experience in theater, television and film as a producer, designer and theater tech. His career in live theater began at The Metropolitan Opera in 1968, on Broadway, from Company in 1970 to Smokey Joe's Cafe in 2000. Richard has designed video projections on Broadway for The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Legend. He coordinated lighting for arena shows and industrials. His television credits include soaps, news, variety shows and commercials for every brand of detergent on the market. Richard produced a TV pilot, The Tatler in 1981. His film credits include, among others, "Billy Bathgate" and "The Thomas Crown Affair". Outside the biz, developed real estate in New Jersey.

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.