Ghostlight Records To Record Original Album of 'Passing'

 Ghostlight Records is proud to announce that it will record the Original Cast Album of the critically acclaimed new Broadway musical PASSING STRANGE in front of a LIVE audience in a recording session on stage at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) on Monday, April 14 from 2pm to 5pm. Release date for the recording is expected for June 2008. Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records President Kurt Deutsch and Bill Rosenfield will serve as Executive Producers for the original cast recording, with PASSING STRANGE co-creators Stew and Heidi Rodewald as the CD's Producers.

Lucky fans of PASSING STRANGE will have the opportunity to be part of a truly rare event on Broadway when the cast, band and creators of PASSING STRANGE record the songs in this bare-bones recording session -- no lights, no set, no costumes, no scenes from the play -- on the stage of the Belasco Theatre where the musical has been playing to enthusiastic audiences since it began previews in early February.  

Fans of PASSING STRANGE who wish to attend the live recording session at the Belasco Theatre on Monday, April 14 should go to www.passingstrangeonbroadway.com and sign up for the PASSING STRANGE newsletter. Special information regarding admission to the live recording session will then be emailed to those who receive the newsletter. Admission will be a $20 cash donation at the door to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, now in the midst of its annual spring fundraising drive. 

"A live recording session of PASSING STRANGE will be a wildly unique event," says Stew. "More than just a live show document or a studio recording, we are aiming for a freaky hybrid of the two. The audience will be in on the process, witnessing it. Heidi Rodewald and I have always tried to bring the spontaneity of live performance into our studio recordings. But now, through the magic of theater, the studio is coming to the Belasco. And that's a lot more convenient than trying to fit several hundred people onto those black leather sofas in a recording studio."

With book and lyrics by the popular singer/songwriter Stew, and with music by Stew and his longtime musical partner Heidi Rodewald, PASSING STRANGE is directed by and created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen. PASSING STRANGE is the first musical by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, best-known for their rock-and-roll music since 2000 when they formed the band STEW, promptly winning two Album of the Year Awards from Entertainment Weekly for their acclaimed works "Guest Host" and "The Naked Dutch Painter."  Previously in 1995, Stew had formed the band The Negro Problem.

PASSING STRANGE is the coming-of-age story of a middle-class youth seeking to find 'the real' by embarking on a journey of escape and exploration:  he leaves the confines of his upbringing and discovers that the further he travels the more it is that the voyage within is the one that counts.

The PASSING STRANGE recording will feature the original Broadway cast: de'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones and Stew, himself, as well as the band of musicians, who join the cast on-stage at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) each night, including the musical's co-creator Heidi Rodewald, along with Jon Spurney, Christian Cassan and Christian Gibbs.

PASSING STRANGE opened on Broadway on February 28, 2008 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) to such rave reviews as: "Bursting at the seams with melodic songs.  I'll just call it wonderful" (New York Times); PASSING STRANGE "is truly unlike anything you've seen on Broadway" (USA Today); " a brilliant work" (The New Yorker); "The music gives the show a freshness that runs an easy gamut from rock to jazz, blues, punk, pop, funk, gospel and show tunes," (Dan's Paper); "PASSING STRANGE is a magical mystery tour." (Variety)

PASSING STRANGE performs Tuesdays at 7pm; Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8pm; Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2pm; and Sundays at 3pm at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) on Broadway. Tickets are priced $111.50 - $66.50 - $36.50 - $26.50, and are available through Tele-charge at www.TeleCharge.com, or by calling 212-239-6200.

For additional information on PASSING STRANGE, visit www.PassingStrangeOnBroadway.com.

Sh-K-Boom Records and its imprint Ghostlight Records is a Grammy-nominated record label, a producer of recorded and live entertainment, and an interactive community at www.sh-k-boom.com, and www.ghostlightrecords.com.  Since being founded seven years ago by Kurt Deutsch and Sherie Rene Scott, Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight is the leading producer of Original Broadway and Off Broadway cast albums, and solo recordings by the new generation of Broadway stars and composers.  With over 50 albums in their catalogue, titles include: The Smash Broadway Hit Legally Blonde, Grammy and Tony Nominated Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Grammy nominated and Tony Winning The Drowsy Chaperone, Grammy nominated and Tony Winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the Grammy nominated all-star benefit recording of Hair for The Actors' Fund of America, as well as The Last 5 Years, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Bright Lights, Big City (with Patrick Wilson and Jesse L. Martin), and Michael John LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See and Bernarda Alba.  Solo Artists include: Patti LuPone, Billy Porter, Jason Robert Brown, Christine Ebersole, Adam Pascal (original star of Rent), Sherie Rene Scott (star of Aida and The Little Mermaid), and Kelli O'Hara's forthcoming debut solo album, Wonder in the World.