The cast began recording the infectious Martin Charnin-Charles Strouse score March 3. Grammy Award-winning veteran cast album producer Thomas Z. Shepard (Sweeney Todd, Company, Sunday in the Park with George) will produce the recording that will first be available at the Palace Theatre (where Annie plays) in May. An online and in-store release date-to-be-announced will follow.
The album is currently available for pre-order at the Palace Theatre. It will be availble for pre-order via the official webpage for the production on March 6.
Broadway producers Douglas Denoff and Dennis Grimaldi produce the Annie cast album for Shout! Broadway. Denoff and Grimaldi forged the partnership with the Shout! Factory label for their Grammy-nominated cast album for Nice Work If You Can Get It.
"Our mission is to bring back the glory days of cast albums, both artistically, and from a business standpoint," Denoff said in a statement. "Our budgets are sensible and our goal is to have finished albums on-sale in the theatre within three to five weeks of recording. We hope to make cast albums profitable again and encourage show producers to think of us and Shout! Broadway first."
The new production, staged by Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winner James Lapine, has new orchestrations by Michael Starobin and musical direction by Todd Ellison. Dance music arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire (In the Heights). Musical coordinator is Patrick Vaccariello. The revival of Annie opened on Broadway Nov. 8, 2012, at the Palace Theatre. It stars Crawford (Billy Elliot) in the title role, with Australian actor Warlow (The Secret Garden) as Daddy Warbucks and Finneran (Promises, Promises; Noises Off!) as Miss Hannigan.
The principal cast also features Brynn O'Malley as Grace Farrell, Clarke Thorell as Rooster Hannigan and J. Elaine Marcos as Lily St. Regis.
The orphans are Madi Rae DiPietro as July, Georgi James as Pepper, Junah Jang as Tessie, Tyrah Skye Odoms as Kate, Taylor Richardson as Duffy, Emily Rosenfeld as Molly. Brooklyn Shuck is the standby for Molly, Kate, Tessie, July and Duffy; Sadie Sink is the standby for Annie, Tessie, Duffy, July and Kate; and Jaidyn Young is the standby for Annie, Pepper, Duffy and July.
The production also features Ashley Blanchet, Jane Blass, Jeremy Davis, Fred Inkley, Merwin Foard, Joel Hatch, Danette Holden, Amanda Lea LaVergne, Gavin Lodge, Liz McCartney, Desi Oakley, Keven Quillon, David Rossetti, Sarah Solie, Dennis Stowe and Ryan VanDenBoom.
Annie features a Tony Award-winning book by Thomas Meehan. The original production earned seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score for its 1977 debut starring Andrea McArdle in the title role. The production ran for 2,377 performances and has enjoyed numerous national tours and a 1997 Broadway revival, which went unrecorded.
For more about the new Broadway production, visit AnnieTheMusical.com.
