The Civilians To Honor Kurt Deutsch & Ghostlight Records at ADVENTURES IN REALITY, 2023 Spring Benefit
The event will take place on Monday, April 3 at 6:30pm at City Winery.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 16, 2023
The Civilians will honor Grammy-winning industry executive Kurt Deutsch, Senior Vice President, Warner Music Entertainment & Theatrical Ventures, and Ghostlight Records at Adventures in Reality: The Civilians' 2023 Spring Benefit. The event, which takes place on Monday, April 3 at 6:30pm at City Winery (25 11th Ave), is the jubilant culmination of the Michael Friedman Recording Project, a multi-year, multi-album initiative recording nine world premiere musicals that preserve the legacy of Obie-winning composer & lyricist Michael Friedman (1975-2017), a founding member of The Civilians.
"The Michael Friedman Recording Project would never have happened without the tireless work of Kurt Deutsch and Ghostlight Records," said The Civilians Artistic Director Steve Cosson. "With their support, The Civilians produced nine new cast albums of Michael's music featuring over one hundred artists. These cast albums, created with love, will ensure Michael's music is accessible to future generations."
This one-night-only celebration will feature performances of songs drawn from this catalog of albums. Participants include Andrea Daly, Andrew Kober, Colleen Werthmann, Eric Parker, Grace Field, Heath Saunders, Jonathan Raviv, Kristin Stokes, Luba Mason, Maya Sharpe, Mike Cefalo, Nedra Marie Taylor, Nick Blaemire, Rebecca Hart, Jennifer Blood, Perry Sherman, Aysan Celik, Nina Hellman, Daniel Jenkins and Trey Lyford, among others.
The Civilians gratefully acknowledge the members of the Board of Directors led by Chair Alain Groenendaal and former Chair Suany Chough, over the past five years for their support and leadership on this project and beyond, the generosity of the Michael Friedman Legacy Fund Donors who helped fully realize these nine albums, and over 100 artists for lending their voices and hearts to Michael's music.
Individual tickets to The Civilians 20th Anniversary Gala Concert start at $500 with tables available starting at $2,500. Tickets can be purchased online at thecivilians.org, by calling 718-230-3330 or by emailing events@thecivilians.org.
Please visit www.thecivilians.org for more information.
About the Honorees
Kurt Deutsch
Grammy Award winner and founder of Sh-K-Boom & Ghostlight Records, is credited with reinventing the musical theater recording landscape by preserving countless shows in high-quality albums through close partnerships with Broadway's top producers, as well as working hand-in-hand with the new generation of theater artists and composers to merge them with the popular culture at large.
In 2017, Deutsch joined Warner Music Group and is currently Senior VP of Warner Music Entertainment and Theatrical Ventures. At WMG he has been part of the producing team on Broadway and West End of the musicals Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, The Cher Show, Beetlejuice, and David Byrne's American Utopia. American Utopia was honored with a special Tony Award and the subsequent film directed by Spike Lee, earned Emmy and Grammy nominations. Deutsch was the lead producer of Ross Golan's The Wrong Man, which premiered to acclaim at MCC, and - with Kevin McCollum - the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of The Notebook.
Prior to entering the music business, Deutsch worked as an actor for over 15 years on and off Broadway, TV, and in film. Deutsch founded Sh-K-Boom Records in 2000 with the mission of bringing passionate, fresh artists and their music to a new audience. To serve the ever expanding mission of the label, the Ghostlight imprint was created in 2004 to include cast recordings and more traditional musical theater albums.
Ghostlight Records
has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings - building a library of over 200 records over the past 23 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway's brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Ghostlight has won Grammy Awards for The Band's Visit, The Book of Mormon, In the Heights and Beautiful - The Carole King Musical. Ghostlight has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Kelli O'Hara, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theater composers and has developed extensive relationships with Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, and David Yazbek, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pasek & Paul, Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Shaina Taub. Ghostlight Records is part of the Arts Music division at Warner Music Group.
About The Civilians
Founded in 2001, The Civilians is a New York City company that creates exuberant "investigative theater" on vital social and political questions. They develop shows based on original interviews and research, and also nurture the work of leading playwrights and composers. Celebrated productions include "The Great Immensity" (a globe-crossing adventure on the climate crisis), "In the Footprint" (multiple top-10 lists play about urban development), and "Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play" (fourth-best play of the past 25 years according to The New York Times). The company originated Lucas Hnath's Dana H., recently on Broadway and included in Top 10 of 2021 lists by The New York Times and Time magazine and was the creative home of composer Michael Friedman from 2001 until his passing in 2017. The company is currently Artist-in-Residence at WNYC's The Greene Space. Previously, they were in residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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