The long anticipated cast recording of the Drama Desk award-winning SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS has been recorded by Yellow Sound Label, produced by Michael Croiter, to be released in digital and CD formats on March 19, 2013. The album features the cast of the Summer 2010 off-Broadway premiere produced by Transport Group Theatre Company (Artistic Director, Jack Cummings III; Executive Director, Lori Fineman) at The Duke on 42nd Street. The album will be available everywhere, including iTunes and Amazon.com.
To celebrate the album's release, NYC's 54 Below will be hosting an Album Release Concert on March 13th at 9:30 pm featuring performances by original cast members and more. This one-night-only concert will include songs from SEE ROCK CITY..., tunes cut from the show, and new, never-before-heard songs from upcoming projects by composer Brad Alexander and lyricist/bookwriter Adam Mathias.
With music by Brad Alexander and book and lyrics by Adam Mathias SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS won the 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical and was nominated for Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Direction (Jack Cummings III), Outstanding Lighting (R. Lee Kennedy) and Outstanding Musical. The musical also received the 2007 Jerry Bock Award and 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing. Roma Torre of NY-1 reported, "The music by Brad Alexander with lyrics by Mathias is consistently lovely. The songs are polished and catchy displaying the composers' gift for writing tunes that are both versatile and genuinely moving."
The album features performances by off-Broadway cast members Stanley Bahorek (...Spelling Bee, February House), Donna Lynne Champlin (Billy Elliot, Sweeney Todd), Jonathan Hammond (Ragtime), Ryan Hilliard (Mary Poppins nat. tour), Bryce Ryness (Hair, Leap of Faith), Mamie Parris (Ragtime, Wicked nat. tour) and Sally Wilfert (Assassins). Music Direction, Vocal Arrangements and Orchestrations are by Justin Hatchimonji. The musicians on the album, under the direction of Mr. Hatchimonji (also piano), include Chris Biesterfeldt (guitar), Rob Jost (bass) and Garo Yellin (cello).
The CD release will include a 20-page color booklet featuring complete lyrics, production photos by Carol Rosegg, show credits, and an introduction and synopsis by author Adam Mathias.
SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS is a contemporary musical about connections missed and made at tourist destinations across America: a wanderer believes his destiny is written on rooftops along the North Carolina Interstate; a young man yearns to connect with intelligent life in Roswell, New Mexico; a woman at the Alamo steps out of the shadow of her grandparents' idealized romance to take a chance on love; three estranged sisters cruise to Glacier Bay to scatter their father's ashes; two high school boys face unexpected fears in the Coney Island Spook House; a terrified bride-to-be ponders taking the leap...over Niagara Falls. With a score that incorporates rock, folk, pop and more, each story builds on the last to create a vivid travelogue of Americans learning to overcome their fears and expectations in order to connect.
Bookwriter/lyricist Adam Mathias, winner of the 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, also wrote the 2004 International New York Fringe Festival hit The Passion of George W. Bush. He is a longstanding member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Upcoming projects include A History of Summer, a musical about the history of Cherry Grove and the Fire Island Pines with composer Jonathan Monro. www.adamup.com
Brad Alexander wrote the music for Theatreworks USA's Click, Clack, Moo (Drama Desk, Lortel Award nom.), Martha Speaks and Just So Stories, as well as songs for Duck For President, If You Give A Pig A Pancake, and We The People (Lortel Award nom.). His music has been featured on Sony Records, Select Records, Showtime's The L Word, and VH1's "Celebreality" campaign. Brad is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, National Alliance for Musical Theatre and The Dramatists Guild of America. www.bradalexander.com
Founded in 2001, Transport Group Theatre Company, under the leadership of Jack Cummings III, Artistic Director, and Lori Fineman, Executive Director, is a not-for-profit theatre company that stages new works and re-imagined revivals by American writers. www.transportgroup.org
SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS was originally developed and produced at Barrington stage, Pittsfield, MA Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director, William Finn, Artistic Producer Musical Theatre Lab. The musical was presented at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's Festival of New Musicals in 2008. Additional development was provided by Musical Mondays Theatre Lab (Bick Goss, Frank Evans, producing artistic directors), Raw Impressions Music Theatre Festival, and the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. This recording made possible in part by a generous grant from the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust.
Theatrical performance rights for SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS are available through Samuel French, Inc. 45 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. Email inquiries to musicals@samuelfrench.com. For sheet music, production history, bios, photos and more, go to www.seerockcitymusical.com.
54 BELOW, Broadway's nightclub, is the new performance venue in the grand tradition of New York City nightlife. A few blocks from the heart of Times Square and just below the legendary Studio 54, 54 BELOW is a classically designed state-of-the art nightclub in the theatre district that hosts audiences with warmth and style. 54 BELOW is owned and operated by Tony Award winning producers Tom Viertel, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and Steven Baruch. The cover charge ranges from $20-$30. 54 BELOW is located at 254 West 54th Street. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com.
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