Photo: Jenny Anderson
The Producers of The Music Man announced today that Accidental Jacket Entertainment will release the official cast recording of the much beloved Broadway revival of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, starring two-time Tony Award®, Grammy Award®, and Emmy Award®-winning star Hugh Jackman as Professor Harold Hill and two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo. The album is produced by seven-time Grammy Award® nominee Robert Sher, in partnership with producers Brian Gillet and Huck Walton. The two-day recording session with the complete original cast took place earlier this week at Manhattan Center. An official release date for the recording will be announced shortly.
The album is executive produced by Steve Shultz, and is co-produced by Marc Levine, Evan McGill, Patrick Vaccariello, and David Garfinkle.
The Music Man’s original Broadway cast recording was released in 1958 and spent a staggering 245 weeks on the Billboard charts. In 1959, the album was awarded the first ever Grammy Award for "Best Original Cast Album.” Its enduring appeal was made plain when it was certified Platinum in 1992 – 30 years after its original release. It is listed at #15 on Playbill’s list of the Best-Selling Cast Recordings of All Time. The song “Till There Was You” was further immortalized in popular culture by none other than The Beatles, who included it on their second album (1964’s Meet The Beatles!). It was the only musical theater song the band ever recorded and became a lasting and beloved part of their live shows.
One of the most universally cherished treasures of the American musical theater, The Music Man was an instant smash hit when it premiered on Broadway on December 19, 1957. It went on to win five Tony Awards, including the prize for Best Musical, and ran for 1,375 performances. The Smithsonian Institution ranks The Music Man as one of the “great glories of American popular culture.”
The Music Man, directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, is currently playing to sold-out audiences at the Winter Garden Theater.
The cast recording will feature the rest of the original cast, including Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn, Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Tony Award winner Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn, and Tony Award winner Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo, Remy Auberjonois as Charlie Cowell, Gino Cosculluela as Tommy Djilas, Emma Crow as Zaneeta Shinn, Benjamin Pajak as Winthrop, Kayla Teruel as Amaryllis, Garrett Long as Ethel Toffelmier, Linda Mugleston as Alma Hix, Jessica Sheridan as Maud Dunlop, Rema Webb as Mrs. Squires, Phillip Boykin as Olin Britt, Eddie Korbich as Jacey Squires, Daniel Torres as Ewart Dunlop, Nicholas Ward as Oliver Hix, Lance Roberts as Constable Locke, Max Clayton as Standby for Harold Hill, and Nick Alvino, Jordan Beall, Ronnie S. Bowman Jr., Maria Briggs, Audrey Cardwell, JT Church, Kammie Crum, Aydin Eyikan, Carlee Flanagan, Ethen Green-Younger, Emily Jewel Hoder, Curtis Holland, Eloise Kropp, Ethan Lafazan, Kayla LaVine, Andrew Minard, Sean Montgomery, Tanner Quirk, Daniel Patrick Russell, Ann Sanders, Sherisse Springer, Mitchell Tobin, Kathy Voytko, Branch Woodman, and Ryan Worsing rounding out the Ensemble.
Ms. Mullen is appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance to this production.
The Music Man creative team includes four-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto (Scenic & Costume Design), five-time Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (Sound Design), Luc Verschueren for Campbell Young and Associates (Hair, Wigs, & Makeup Design), Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick (Orchestrations), David Chase (Vocal and Dance Arrangements), and Patrick Vaccariello (Musical Director).