BABY New Off-Broadway Cast Recording Featuring Christina Sajous, Julia Murney & More to be Released in February

YELLOW SOUND LABEL will release Baby: New Off-Broadway Cast Recording next year to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the show's original production. The album is scheduled for release on streaming and digital platforms on February 14, 2023. Originally produced on Broadway in 1983, Baby features a book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., based upon a story developed with Susan Yankowitz. The recording - which features new and never-before-recorded material - is based on the 2021 Off-Broadway production by Out of the Box Theatrics, which was nominated for a 2022 Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Revival of a Musical." The album is produced by Michael Croiter, Richard Maltby, Jr., and Geoffrey Ko, who also serves as music supervisor. Out of the Box Theatrics serves as executive producer.

This new production of Baby reimagines the story of three couples on their journeys to parenthood, triumphantly examining them through a 2022 lens. Taking place on a university campus, it deals with the painful, rewarding and unexpectedly funny consequences of the universal experience of pregnancy and parenthood. They include two college students, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; the thirty-somethings, having trouble conceiving but determined not to give up; and middle-aged parents, previously looking forward to an empty nest when an unexpected night of passion lands them back where they started.

The production celebrates the intersectionality of both the actors' and characters' identities. With fresh lyrics and new storylines, this is a brand-new musical with a 40-year old score that will excite fans of the original while introducing it to a new generation of musical theatre lovers.

The cast features Christina Sajous as Pam, Gabrielle McClinton as Nicki, Julia Murney as Arlene, Robert H. Fowler as Alan, Liz Flemming as Lizzie, and Johnny Link as Danny. The ensemble includes Jorge Donoso, Marisa Kirby, Jewell Noel, and Ethan Paulini.

"We wrote Baby in 1983 and since then the entire universe has changed," says lyricist and original director Richard Maltby, Jr. "Revisiting and updating the show has been very exciting, and even with the updates, the process made us realize the heart of the show hasn't aged at all. I am thrilled to have this new recording to document the show for 2022."

"Getting the chance to collaborate so closely with Richard to reimagine this unique musical has been one of the privileges of my career," adds Ethan Paulini, who directed this production. "After living with Baby for the past several years, it seems only fitting that this recording is the next step in this special process. As Richard would say, we are working on a new musical with a 38-year-old score. Viewing these characters through a modern lens demanded to be preserved and with these top-notch performances. I am thrilled that this will be a more complete recording, capturing never-before-recorded material from this fabulous Maltby and Shire score."

Liz Flemming of Out of the Box Theatrics, comments: "I thought it was essential that we explore the relationships in Baby and the universal experience of having a baby through underrepresented families so that our audiences and artists could see themselves in this new production. Originally, due to script restrictions the only story we could explore with minor rewrites was the middle couple, making Nick and Pam a same-sex relationship (Nicki and Pam) going through IVF to have a child of their own. We were fortunate enough to connect with the original authors who were willing to explore a remount where we could tell this story with more time and research spent on the middle couple's storyline."

"Our world has changed," she continues, "and each couple needed to be given the same time and attention as Nicki and Pam. I expressed my desire to Richard to see my personal story in Baby as a legally blind individual who grew up with disabled parents and explore each couple's experience and how they could be changed. He could've said no, but instead Richard leaned into the process. Lizzie and Danny, written as two able-bodied individuals in the 1983 production, were retold in our production through a legally blind Lizzie and partially-deaf Danny to reflect the experience of the actors portraying them. Arlene and Alan were deepened through the actors playing them (Julia Murney and Robert H. Fowler) by staying true to their ages and asking some hard questions about who they were if they weren't parents. For the middle couple, we brought on a writing advisor (Anthony Anello) to do research on IVF while Richard interviewed same-sex partners who went through the process."

"Yellow Sound Label is proud to bring this new Baby to listeners around the world," says album producer and label founder Michael Croiter. "Maltby and Shire's wonderful score deserves to be revisited and this album will be a favorite of fans of the original, as well as those discovering this special show for the first time."

The original Broadway production of Baby opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 1983, where it received seven Tony Award nominations, including "Best Musical," "Best Original Score" and "Best Book of a Musical." The smart and tuneful Maltby-Shire score has become a favorite of theatre fans over the years, including such songs as "I Want It All," "The Story Goes On," "I Chose Right," and "Patterns" (dropped from the original Broadway production, but reinstated here). Baby was based upon a story developed with Susan Yankowitz. The original Broadway production was directed by Richard Maltby, Jr., and was produced on Broadway by James B. Freydberg and Ivan Bloch, Kenneth John Productions Inc., and Suzanne J. Schwartz, in association with Manuscript Productions.

YELLOW SOUND LABEL

is an Emmy Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated, cutting-edge company that produces music for established performers, up-and-coming artists and original cast recordings. The boutique label takes a hands-on approach in nurturing and producing passionate, focused performers and composers who create quality, noteworthy recordings. Founder Michael Croiter is currently nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for the Original Broadway Cast Recording of A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning musical. YellowSoundLabel.com

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