John Tartaglia, Stephen Bogardus and More Featured on Chip Deffaa's 'I Must Have That Man' Album - Out Now

Two dozen stars from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and the cabaret world are featured on the new album, "I Must Have that Man," being released today. A celebration of gay love, it features performers- both gay and straight alike- selected by ASCAP Award-winning writer/producer Chip Deffaa, including such Broadway notables as Stephen Bogardus ("Bright Star"), Lee Roy Reams ("42nd Street"), Seth Sikes ("The Band's Visit"), John Tartaglia ("Avenue Q"), Charlie Franklin ("Tina"), Belle Calaway ("Chicago"), Trent Armand Kendall ("Into the Woods"), Jon Peterson ("Cabaret"), and others. The album, an outgrowth of shows that Deffaa has presented at the 13th Street Theater and elsewhere, features 25 rare- and, in some cases, never-before-recorded- songs with a "gay romance" theme. It is the 29th album Deffaa has produced and the sixth dealing with the theme of gay love. The album- available from Amazon, iTunes, Footlight Records and more may be ordered, as either a physical CD or a digital download, HERE.

The performers chosen, Deffaa notes, "are not just excellent performers in their own right, they represent a good deal of gay theatrical history. Stephen Bogardus, for example, has appeared memorably in more than a dozen Broadway shows, and it's always an honor to record him. But he first came to fame- gathering terrific notice from reviewers and the public alike -when he originated important roles in two trailblazing Broadway hits with gay themes, playing 'Whizzer' in 'Falsettos' and 'Gregory" in 'Love! Valour! Compassion.' He reprised his Tony Award-nominated performance in the latter show in its film adaptation. And when he recorded for me, one of the younger singers on this album, watching from the studio's control booth, noted in awe: "I grew up listening to Bogie's voice on the cast album of 'Falsettos.'

"Lee Roy Reams- whom I've enjoyed in countless Broadway shows, all my life- played the first gay character I ever saw on stage, in the Broadway musical 'Applause.' That show was a major hit, and its casual incorporation of gay characters -which back then weren't yet being seen on TV- was a good step forward, nearly 50 years ago. And helped me, as a youth, figure myself out. Of course I'm always glad to record Lee Roy on any song, any time. For this album, he chose to sing Jerry Herman's 'If He Walked into My Life,' from the musical 'Mame." However, on this album he's singing alternate lyrics provided to him by his late friend Jerry Herman, so the song is no longer a song about a nephew as it was in 'Mame,' but a lament for a lost lover. And Reams' glorious, sterling voice -honed in a time before microphones were commonly used in the theaters, when you really had to sing out -is full and true. He's never sounded better. This recording captures Reams, a great favorite of mine, at his very best."

Richard Danley is the primary music director for the album (with Sterling Price-McKinney on select tracks). Matthew Nardozzi and Steve Garrin are associate producers. Slau Halatyn is the recording engineer. Frank Avellino handled graphic design. Production assistance provided by Jessee D. Riehl and Max Galassi.