Christine Ebersole and More Join Cast Recording of JO - THE LITTLE WOMEN MUSICAL
The album will be released in March.
Final stars have been announced to join the world premiere Studio Cast Recording of Jo - The Little Women Musical. Two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole (Grey Gardens, 42nd Street) will play Aunt March, two-time Tony Award nominee Bob Gunton (Sweeney Todd, Evita, the Warden in The Shawshank Redemption movie), Grandfather, with rising West End star Tobias Turley (winner of ITV's Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream, the TV search for Sky in the West End production of Mamma Mia!), Fred Vaughn, and Miyuki Miyagi (Natasha in Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812) as Sallie Gardiner in a new musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's iconic coming-of-age novel Little Women.
Jo - The Little Women Musical, with music by Dan Redfeld, book and lyrics by Christina Harding and John Gabriel Koladziej, will get its world premiere with a Studio Album recorded at London's iconic Abbey Road Studios featuring a mix of Broadway, West End and international stars and a 29-piece orchestra, produced by five-time Grammy nominee and three-time Emmy winner Nigel Wright and Dan Redfeld.
The recording session will be followed by the release of several tracks and videos, the album and the full show will be presented in semi-staged concert on the West End, directed by JoAnn M. Hunter (20 Broadway shows to her credit as a Choreographer including Bad Cinderella and School of Rock, Associate Choreographer and Performer. Most recently Director of SuperYou a new Rock Musical at Curve, Leicester and Choreographer of the upcoming Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat UK tour starring Donny Osmond).
Jo - The Little Women Musical studio album will be released under Grammy winning record label Center Stage Records in March.
The date, theatre and ticket onsale for the West End concert will be announced soon.
Christine Ebersole (Aunt March) has been recognised with a string of honours that includes two Tony Awards, she has appeared in 20 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, as well as gracing TV series and specials, films, concerts, recordings and opera. It was for her “dual role of a lifetime” as Edith Beale and Little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens that Ebersole won her second Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as virtually every available Off-Broadway honour. Other memorable New York roles include her Tony-winning turn as Dorothy Brock in the hit revival of 42nd Street, her Tony-nominated portrayal of Elizabeth Arden opposite Patti LuPone in War Paint, her Tony-and Outer Critics Circle-nominated appearance in Dinner at Eight, her Obie-winning and Drama Desk-nominated appearance in Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, her performance as Guinevere alongside Richard Harris and Richard Burton in Camelot, and her leading roles in Oklahoma!,On the Twentieth Century, Steel Magnolias, The Best Man, and the revival of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit. In 2018 she made her operatic debut under James Conlon's leadership as the Old Lady in Francesca Zambello's production of Candide at LA Opera. Recently starring as Lucille Dolittle, a role based on Lucille Ball, in Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-
nominated Licorice Pizza, Ebersole has appeared in numerous feature films. Previous film credits include The Wolf of Wall Street, Amadeus, Black Sheep, Dead Again, Folks!, Ghost Dad, My Girl 2, Richie Rich, Tootsie, True Crime, and The Big Wedding, which features her account of her original song “ Gently Down the Stream.”
Bob Gunton (Grandfather) in a distinguished 30-year career he has played a potpourri of memorable roles in notable productions in theatre, television and film. On Broadway, Gunton received Tony Award nominations for his Sweeney Todd and for his portrayal of Juan Peron in Evita. He was also featured in Big River, Roza, Passion, King of Hearts, Working, and Happy End. He received an Obie Award for playing 21 characters in How I Got That Story, as well as the Clarence Derwent Award for The Most Promising New New York Actor of 1980. In 2004, Bob was nominated for a Barrymore Award for playing the eponymous role in The Great Ostrovsky - the great Cy Coleman's last musical, in a pre-Broadway production. Gunton's feature film work runs the gamut from farce to drama. Working with some of Hollywood's most celebrated directors, Gunton has appeared in Oliver Stone's JFK, and Born On The Fourth of July, Ed Zwick's Glory, John Woo's Broken Arrow and, most memorably, as the Warden in Frank Darrabont's The Shawshank Redemption.
Tobias Turley (Fred Vaughn) was the winner of ITV's Mamma Mia I Have A Dream, the televised search for Sky in the West End production of Mamma Mia!. He will be seen next in the UK premiere of White Rose the Musical (Marylebone Theatre) Other credits include: Heathers The Musical (The Other Palace), West Side Story (Ljubljana Festival).
Miyuki Miyagi (Sallie Gardiner) is an actor, singer, dancer, and violinist. Credits include: The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Goodspeed), Natasha Rostova in Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 (Capital City), Peggy Maruyama in Allegiance with George Takei (East West Players), When You Wish (Tuacahn), Anne in A Little Night Music (Princeton Summer Theater).
Other cast previously announced for the album recording include:
Laura Benanti (Marmee March), a Tony Award winner and five-time Tony Award nominee, took Broadway by storm at the age of 18 as Maria in The Sound of Music and has subsequently starred in 10 Broadway shows (musicals, straight plays, comedies, and dramas) including Into the Woods, Nine (opposite Antonio Banderas), Gypsy (for which she won a Tony Award), She Loves Me, My Fair Lady, and Steve Martin's Meteor Shower.
Julian Ovenden's (Father) theatre work includes leading roles at The Donmar Warehouse, Almeida, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Young Vic, the RSC, Roundabout in NYC, and in the West End and on Broadway. His recent stage work includes starring opposite Gillian Anderson in Ivo van Hove's All About Eve and playing Emile de Becque in the smash-hit revival of South Pacific at Chichester Festival and Sadler's Wells, for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Leading Actor in a Musical.
Christine Allado (Jo March) is a Grammy Award nominated artist. She was Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the original London cast of Hamilton (Victoria Palace), Cinderella in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends (Gielgud); Meat in We Will Rock You (London Coliseum); Tzipporah in The Prince of Egypt (Dominion).
Dan Redfeld (Composer) said, “It's always been our hope for Jo – The Little Women Musical to be heard around the world the way we intended - with an international cast of stellar artists and 29-piece orchestra. For that to come to fruition in a full Studio Album is a dream come true.”
Christina Harding and John Gabriel Koladziej (Co-Lyricists and Book Writers) continued, “Assembling such a talented group of performers to bring our material to life is truly thrilling. We are excited to share our new interpretation of Louisa May Alcott's timeless classic with a multi-generational audience.”
Lead Producer Brian Purcell (4 Times Entertainment, Inc.) added, “We are honoured to be recording at Abbey Road Studios where some of the world's most influential artists and albums - from The Beatles to Star Wars to Lady Gaga - have been immortalised.
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