MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY to Release Musical Concept Album in January
The album will be released on January 19th.
The musical comedy Manuel Vs the Statue of Liberty, which played an award-winning, sold-out, extended run at NYMF, will release its concept album on January 19th. Winner of the Yip Harburg award, the musical features music and lyrics by David Davila, and book and lyrics by Noemi de la Puente. It has been developed with Pregones / the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, The New York Musical Festival, Musical Theatre Factory, the PlayGround Experiment, Dramatic Question Theatre, Princeton University, Gallery Players Brooklyn, the Latiné Musical Theatre Lab, and Constellation Stage and Screen.
Produced and music directed by Jeremy Gussin, the concept album features an all-star roster of Broadway talent including Gabrielle Ruiz, Julia Estrada, Florencia Cuenca, Kevin Gwinn, Martin Ramirez Jr, and Haley Guerra - with additional vocals by Davila, Gussin, and Abigail Bilson.
The album will also feature four karaoke tracks of popular audition songs from Manuel Vs the Statue of Liberty, so singers of any age can join in the fun!
Manuel Vs the Statue of Liberty tells the story of Manuel, a dreamer who's as American as Taco Salad and student debt, but if he wants to go to college himself he'll have to risk coming out as an undocumented immigrant. That could be extra tricky now that new immigration reform laws require all so-called-illegal immigrants to fight the Statue of Liberty (a genderqueer rock n' roll version of the American icon) in a real life high stakes boxing match for their green-cards. Is Manuel brave enough or even crazy enough to take on the two-hundred and twenty-five ton mammoth of copper and steel? This raucous musical comedy leaps from Latin rhythms to rap and hip-hop to glam rock to soaring Broadway ballads as our hero navigates a treacherous world where any stranger could become an enemy, and even baby Jesus can be deported.
Manuel Vs the Statue of Liberty: Original Concept Album was recorded at Airtime Studios in Bloomington, IN through a finishing commission provided by Constellation Stage and Screen (Chad Rabinovitz, Artistic Director), a grant from the Bloomington Arts Commission, and generous contributions from Executive Producers Maureen and Greg Crough, Noemi de la Puente, Lisa Estrada, Charlie Hess, and Elda Ruiz Dawson. The album was produced by David Davila, Jeremy Gussin, and Lewis Rogers, with engineering and mixing by Lewis Rogers, and mastering by Kate Seifker.
The album features Cam MacLean-Kennedy on acoustic and electric guitar, Tony Mastroberti on electric bass, Jaxson Rives on drums, and Jeremy Gussin on piano. Musical arrangements and orchestrations provided by Karl Hedrick with additional arrangements by Gussin, Aaqil Abdullah, Mark Galinovsky, Angela Ortiz, and Jaime Ramirez. Album cover designed by David Davila with artwork by Tri Vo.
Manuel Vs the Statue of Liberty: Original Concept Album will be available on all music streaming platforms January 19th, 2025. Stay tuned for news about its exciting album release concert!
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