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Children! Pop Tunes! Dianetics!: Sh-K-Boom Records releases Original Cast Album of "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant"

By: Sep. 30, 2004
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SH-K-BOOM Records has announced the release of the Original Cast Album of the OBIE Award-winning musical A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant on November 2, according to label founder and co-president Kurt Deutsch. Pageant, the sleeper hit of last year's Off Broadway season, has book, music and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow from a concept by Alex Timbers. Originally produced by irreverent New York theater company Les Freres Corbusier, the West Coast premiere opens at The Powerhouse Theatre in Santa Monica on October 15.

A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant depicts a cast of children putting on a holiday show - but this is not your typical school play. Instead of celebrating Christmas, Channukah or Kwaanza, these kids recite, in story and song, the history of the Church of Scientology and its Supreme Leader L. Ron Hubbard. The result is strange and hilarious: a one-of-a-kind, extraordinary evening.

Cuts on the album, sung by the cast of 8-to-12 year-olds, include Disclaimer; Hey! It's a Happy Day!; L. Ron Hubbard; The Way That I Began; Searching; Science of the Mind; Mister Auditor; Rain; Something Special; and the show's FinaleAlso on the CD is .   a bonus track, an alternative version of Rain performed by New York City punk-popsters "The Fabulous Entourage", a uniquely theatrical band fronted by Pageant playwright Kyle Jarrow.

In addition to the CD, SH-K-BOOM is currently editing a documentary about the New York production of Pageant.  Founded by Deutsch and Sherie Rene Scott in 2000, SH-K-BOOM is devoted to bridging the gap between pop music and theater.  To date, the label has released an 11-song CD for the hit show BARE;
Great Joy! A Gospel Christmas by Michael McElroy's acclaimed Broadway Inspirational Voices; the world premiere recording of Michel Legrand's multiple Tony-nominated musical Amour; original cast recordings of the Drama Desk Award-winning The Last 5 Years and the Off Broadway production of Debbie Does Dallas; the first-ever live recording of the 2001 "Broadway on Broadway" concert; and debut solo CDs for Adam Pascal ("Model Prisoner"), Sherie Rene Scott ("Sherie Rene... Men I've Had"), and Alice Ripley ("Everything's Fine").  Upcoming releases include Adam Pascal's new album "Civilian" and the much-anticipated premiere recording of Paul Scott Goodman's rock opera Bright Lights, Big City.

Until its release in stores on November 2, the Original Soundtrack Album of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant is available exclusively on the SH-K-BOOM website (www.sh-k-boom.com) and at performances of the Los Angeles production at The Powerhouse Theatre.  The West Coast premiere of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant runs at The Powerhouse Theatre for six weeks, October 15 through November 21.  To reserve tickets, call 1-866-OFF-MAIN (1-866-633-6246) or visit www.powerhousetheatre.com and click on "Ticket Office."






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