PS Classics, the nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of American musical theatre, will release the world premiere recording of Ricky Ian Gordon and Tina Landau's Dream True on May 23, 2006.
Dream True features music by Gordon, and book and lyrics by Tina Landau, with additional lyrics by Gordon. The cast includes Broadway stars Brian d'Arcy James (
The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Sweet Smell of Success),
Jason Danieley (
The Full Monty, Candide), Kelli O'Hara (
The Pajama Game, The Light in the Piazza), Jessica Molaskey (
Parade, Songs for a New World), Jeff McCarthy (
Urinetown, Side Show) and
Victoria Clark (
The Light in the Piazza, Titanic), as well as
Harrison Chad,
William Ullrich,
Michael McElroy, James Moye and
Clarke Thorell. The orchestra is conducted by
Ted Sperling; the orchestrations are by Jonathan Tunick.
Winner of the Richard Rodgers Production Award given by The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999, Dream True, inspired by the novel
Peter Ibbetson by George du Maurier, had its origins in the nonprofit realm. It was originally produced by the Vineyard Theatre in June of 1998, then in an extended run in the spring of 1999. It was subsequently produced in concert on March 8, 2004, at CooperArts, a contemporary music series produced by Howard Stokar; this new CD, recorded at Avatar Studios in April of 2004, is drawn from the concert performance. Several of its songs have been performed frequently on recordings and in concert, including "Finding Home" and "We Will Always Walk Together."
Ricky Ian Gordon's credits include
My Life With Albertine, with Richard Nelson at Playwrights Horizons;
Only Heaven, his setting of Langston Hughes poetry premiered by Encompass Opera; and
The Tibetan Book of the Dead, with Jean Claude Van Itallie at Houston Grand Opera. On March 13th, 2001, at Lincoln Center, he was presented as part of the American Songbook Series. His songs have been performed and recorded by
Renee Fleming, Dawn Upshaw,
Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Harolyn Blackwell, and
Betty Buckley, among others.
Twice Grammy-nominated (for its Broadway cast recordings of Assassins and Nine: The Musical), PS Classics, co-founded by
Tommy Krasker and Philip Chaffin, offers a diverse line of show albums,
solo CDs and songbook recordings. Its cast albums celebrate Broadway (The Frogs, Fiddler on the Roof, A Year With Frog and Toad), off-Broadway (Striking 12, My Life With Albertine and Zanna, Don't!), and regional theatre (Ricky Ian Gordon's Only Heaven and Michael John LaChiusa's First Lady Suite). Its solo albums range from jazz (Jessica Molaskey: Make Believe) to folk (Rebecca Luker: Leaving Home) to pure show music (Christine Andreas: Here's to the Ladies); Marin Mazzie's and Jason Daniely's Opposite You is a recent album of duets. Composers highlighted range from Billy Strayhorn and Jerome Moross to Maury Yeston and Jason Robert Brown. PS Classics is distributed exclusively by Image Entertainment.
For more information, please visit
www.psclassics.org.