After several delays, the cast album of the Drama Dept.'s recent Off-Broadway production of the Irving Berlin-Moss Hart revue, As Thousands Cheer, is in stores March 23 on the Varese Sarabande label.

The recording is the first cast album ever of the 1933 show.

The album features the original cast of Paula Newsome, Kevin Chamberlin, Howard McGillan, B.D. Wong (now in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown), Mary Beth Peil and Judy Kuhn. The Cheer recording features such classic songs as "Heatwave," "Through a Keyhole," "How's Chances?" and "Supper Time," as well as a couple other songs -- such as "Easter Parade" -- which were in the original 1933 production but not the Drama Dept. version.

The Drama Dept. production was the Berlin-Hart revue's first staging since the 1933 Broadway original. It ran at the Greenwich House Theatre June 14-July 18, 1998. Christopher Ashley directed. There had been talk of transferring the show, but those plans were scotched due to prior commitments of three of the cast members.

-- By Robert Simonson