Julia Murney's Debut Album 'I'M NOT WAITING' Released 5/9

Grammy-nominated recording label Sh-K-Boom Records proudly announces the release of Julia Murney's debut solo album, I'm Not Waiting, on Tuesday, May 9, 2006. Recorded earlier this year in New York, I'm Not Waiting is produced by Grammy Award nominee Andrew Lippa, with musical direction by Tom Kitt and Stephen Oremus. The album was recorded and mixed by Grammy Award winner Joel Moss.

Julia Murney is a celebrated actress whose stage performances have garnered critical and popular acclaim since starring as Queenie in the 2000 world premiere of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, a role that earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Her other stage credits include the recent Broadway production of Lennon, as well as Manhattan Theatre Club's productions of A Class Act and Time and Again, for which she received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress.

Through Labor Day 2006, Ms. Murney is starring as Elphaba – the Wicked Witch – in the National Tour of the Tony Award-winning hit Broadway musical Wicked.

"Since the first day we met, Julia and I have had a musical connection which, to non-musicians, is hard to describe," said album producer Andrew Lippa. "She's a profoundly gifted artist with a limitless range of emotions, a commanding presence, and an artistry that turns lyrics into literature, belting into bliss, music into miracles. In fact, I never have to rehearse with Julia when I've written something new for her. She just knows how to sing it. It's almost as if she's writing the song as she's singing it. She's inspiring."

The 11-track I'm Not Waiting disc includes:

1. "A Thousand Beautiful Things" / "Beautiful Day" (Annie Lennox / Adam Clayton, David Evans, Paul David, Hewson, Lawrence Mullen)

2. "Misery and Happiness" (Susan Werner)

3. "I'm Not Waiting" (Andrew Lippa)

4. "A Case of You" (Joni Mitchell)

5. "Perfect" (Tom Kitt)

6. "Raise the Roof" – >From the Off-Broadway musical The Wild Party (Andrew Lippa)

7. "Beautiful Boy" (John Lennon)

8. "Fancy" (Bobbie Gentry)

9. "I'm Not That Girl" – >From the Broadway musical Wicked (Stephen Schwartz)

10. "When I First Met Him" (Andrew Lippa)

11. "Rainbow Sleeves" (Tom Waits)

With musical direction by Tom Kitt (piano) and Stephen Oremus (piano/organ), the band for I'm Not Waiting includes Konrad Adderley (bass), Damien Bassman (percussion/ drums), Christian Hebel (violin), Danny Miller (cello), Ric Molina (acoustic/electric guitars) and Peter Sachon (cello).

I'm Not Waiting is available in-stores beginning Tuesday, May 9, 2006, and may also be purchased in theaters across the country where the National Tour of Wicked is scheduled to play this summer. Visit www.WickedTheMusicalTour.com for tour dates, venues and more information.

For more information or to purchase I'm Not Waiting online, visit www.Sh-K-Boom.com or www.JuliaMurney.com.

BIOGRAPHIES

Julia Murney's New York theatre credits include the recent Broadway production of Lennon (Broadhurst Theatre), and the Off-Broadway productions of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party (Manhattan Theatre Club; Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical), The Vagina Monologues (Westside Theatre), Crimes of the Heart (Second Stage Theater), A Class Act (MTC), Time and Again (MTC, Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress) and First Lady Suite (Transport Group). She has also appeared in two Broadway by the Year concerts (1953 and 1963) at NYC's Town Hall and the annual all-star Actors' Fund benefit concerts of Funny Girl, Chess (co-starring Josh Groban, Adam Pascal and Sutton Foster) and Hair at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre. Regionally, Ms. Murney has appeared at the Pioneer Theater Co., Virginia Stage, the Goodspeed Opera House, the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the L.A. Reprise! Series. Her television credits include "Sex and the City" (final season), "Ed," "NYPD Blue" and all three of the "Law & Order" series. She can be heard on the original cast recordings of The Wild Party, A Class Act, Broadway by the Year 1953 and the Grammy-nominated Actors' Fund recording of Hair. She is a graduate of Syracuse University.

Andrew Lippa (Producer) wrote the new songs and arrangements for the recent Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. His show john & jen, for which he wrote the music and co-wrote the book (with Tom Greenwald), was produced at the Lamb's Theater in 1995. He recently completed the songs and score for Kyle Baker's animated film Corey Q. Jeeters, I'm Telling On You and his music and lyrics have been featured in the annual benefit Broadway Bares. Andrew also contributed vocal arrangements to Stephen Schwartz's The Prince of Egypt. Recordings: Produced original cast recording of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown for RCA (1999-00 Grammy nomination), associate producer of john & jen for Varese Sarabande. Proud graduate of the University of Michigan.

Sh-K-Boom Records was founded by Kurt Deutsch in 2000 with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theatre. The label is committed to giving a voice to the new generation of Broadway composers and stars. Sh-K-Boom, and its imprint Ghostlight Records, were recently honored with three 2006 Grammy Award nominations for Best Musical Show Album: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Hair (The Actors' Fund of America Benefit Recording) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Its most recent recordings include See What I Wanna See and Songs From an Unmade Bed. Other recent cast albums include The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown and Debbie Does Dallas, based on the classic film. Sh-K-Boom has released solo recordings by three of Broadway's biggest stars: Alice Ripley's Everything's Fine, Adam Pascal's Model Prisoner and Sherie René Scott's Sherie René… Men I've Had. Sh-K-Boom Records is distributed by Razor & Tie Entertainment.