The new musical I Love You Because, with its acclaimed score by Ryan Cunningham and Joshua Salzman, will be preserved on disc, in a recording to be released in the fall by PS Classics.
With book and lyrics by Cunningham and music by Salzman, the musical opened at off-Broadway's Village Theatre on February 14, 2006 and completed its run on May 21st. It was produced by
Jennifer Maloney,
Fred M. Caruso, Robert Cuillo and GFour Productions, in association with
Jana Robbins and Sharon Carr. Upcoming productions are already planned for Coral Gables, Boston,
Chicago and Seattle.
The off-Broadway cast –
Farah Alvin,
David A. Austin, Tony Award nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo and
Colin Hanlon, with
Jordan Leeds and
Courtney Balan – will reassemble in the studio on Monday, June 26th, under the supervision of producer Larry Gates.
I Love You Because, choreographed by
Christopher Gattelli and directed by
Daniel Kutner, features orchestrations by
Larry Hochman and musical direction by
Jana Zielonka.
Dubbed "a modern day musical love story," the show follows Austin Bennet (Hanlon), an uptight greeting card writer whose life is turned upside down when he finds his long-term girlfriend in bed with another man. Forced back out into the treacherous New York dating scene, Austin meets Marcy Fitzwilliams (Alvin), a free-spirited photographer whose spontaneity is matched only by her ability to drive him insane. They are constantly misguided by Austin's brother Jeff (Austin) and Marcy's best friend Diana Bingley (D'Abruzzo). Together, they explore the 'rules' and nuances of dating in the big city as they learn how to love someone, not in spite of their differences, but because of them.
With its upcoming release of
I Love You Because, PS Classics affirms its commitment to the great tradition of Broadway and American popular song that begins in Tin Pan Alley and stretches all the way to today's most fresh and distinctive composers and lyricists. Its recent releases include
Sunday in the Park With George (The 2006 London Cast), the
John Bucchino revue
It's Only Life, and its centennial tribute to
Jule Styne in Hollywood; its next release, on August 22nd, is the cast recording of
Grey Gardens, starring
Christine Ebersole.
Founded in 2000 by Tommy Krasker and Philip Chaffin, PS Classics has released cast recordings (including Grammy Award-nominated albums of
Assassins and
Nine: The Musical); solo albums by such artists as
Jessica Molaskey,
Christine Andreas,
Jason Danieley &
Marin Mazzie, and
Rebecca Luker; songbook tributes to composers ranging from Billy Strayhorn to
Maury Yeston to
Jason Robert Brown; and, through its nonprofit division, restorations of forgotten musicals (Kay Swift's
Fine and Dandy) and recordings drawn from rare sound archives, including "Sondheim Sings, Volumes I & II." PS Classics is distributed by Image Entertainment. Visit
www.psclassics.com.
