Original Cast Recording of The Capeman Now Available on iTunes

By Andrew Gans
and Robert Viagas
27 Jun 2006

Marc Anthony from the 1998 Broadway production of The Capeman.
Marc Anthony from the 1998 Broadway production of The Capeman.

The original Broadway cast recording of Paul Simon's The Capeman — the short-lived musical that featured Ruben Blades, Marc Anthony, Ednita Nazario and Sara Ramirez — never made it to record stores, but interested listeners can now download tracks from the recording on iTunes.

All 39 songs from the Simon musical are available for download. The complete track listing follows:
"El Coqui"
"Handball Game"
"Born in Puerto Rico"
"In Mayaguez"
"Carmen"
"Santero"
"Chimes"
"Christmas in the Mountains"
"Satin Summer Nights"
"Bernadette"
"The Vampires"
"Shopliftin' Clothes"
"Dance to a Dream"
"Quality"
"Manhunt"
"TV Interview 1959"
"Can I Forgive Him?"
"Adios Hermanos"
"Jesus Es Mi Senor"
"Sunday Afternoon"
"Time Is an Ocean"
"Wahzinak's First Letter"
"Killer Wants to Go to College"
"Virgil"
"Wahzinak's Duet"
"TV Interview 1975"
"My Only Defense"
"Virgil & the Warden"
"Trailways Bus"
"El Malecon"
"You F***d Up My Life"
"Lazarus"/"Last Drop of Blood"
"Wahzinak's Last Letter"
"Puerto Rican Day Parade"
"El Coqui" (Reprise)
"Tony Hernandez"
"Carlos & Yolanda"
"Sal's Last Song"
"Esmeralda's Dream"

The Dreamworks SKG original cast album of Paul Simon's Broadway musical The Capeman was originally scheduled for release in spring 1998. The recording, which was never released, featured the entire Broadway cast singing the full score, which was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Original Score.

A CD of Simon, Blades, Anthony and Nazario singing selections from the show was released in fall 1997. The cast album includes much material not on the "Songs From The Capeman" CD.

With a score by Simon and libretto by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, The Capeman tells the true-life story of Salvador Agron, a Puerto Rican gang member who murdered two teen-agers in the late 1950s, then underwent a conversion as a poet while in prison.

The Capeman closed March 28, 1998, after two months' run at a loss of nearly its entire $11 million investment.

Visit www.iTunes.com for downloading details.