Producers of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Sow Seeds of Score by Giving Away 50,000 Cast Albums April 27-May 31
By Kenneth Jones
20 Apr 2005
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Cover art for the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels album.
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The following offer is not a con, say the producers of Dirty Rotten Scondrels, Broadway's new musical comedy about con men.
Starting April 27, 50,000 special limited edition cast albums of the show will be handed out, free of charge.
Prior to the official May 10 street date of the disc, on Ghostlight Records, the special free CDs (which include a spolier-warning message from John Lithgow prior to the climax song of the show) will scatter like seeds on the wind. The producers hope the score by David Yazbek will take root in the hearts of fans and blossom into word of mouth and buzz for the show at the Imperial Theatre.
The discs will first be available to anyone who comes by a special launch party 11:30 AM April 27 at the Imperial, and then to to ticketholders at every performance there to May 31.
The giveaway is unprecedented in Broadway and cast album history. The CD will not be available anywhere else until May 10.
(The special CD will not include the booklet of the later CD, and will not have three bonus tracks expected on the commercial cast album.)
The producers financed the album themselves and have partnered with Kurt Deutsch, president of the independent record labels Sh-K-Boom and
Ghostlight Records, which allows them to market the cast album in this "unique and revolutionary way."
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels producer Marty Bell said in a statement, "I grew up with a
Broadway where we all came into the theatre humming the tunes. I've been
searching for a method to recreate that. By getting 50,000 CDs into our
audience's homes and cars, we hope to kickstart the process of familiarizing
theatergoers with David Yazbek's uniquely funny, melodic songs. Successful
theatre is dependent on word of mouth — and what better way to spread it than to fill the marketplace with this terrific score."
Kurt Deutsch president of Ghostlight Records said in a statement, "The Cast Album is the
most important marketing tool a show has. It has been my goal over the past few years to re-define how these albums are financed and marketed. By
co-owning the master recording with the producers, we can work together to
figure out how to market the show as well as sell the record. As a show
tries to build an audience, they need too be able to use every tool they
can. If we can help by doing something unique like this launch, fueling
word-of-mouth, we will sell many records for many years to come."
From 11:30 AM-1 PM on April 27, the show's composer and complete cast will be autographing free copies of the new CD in front of the Imperial
Theatre for anyone who stops by.
Every Dirty Rotten audience member April 27-May 31 also gets a disc.
The recording is produced by David Yazbek and Billy Strauss; Kurt Deutsch is the album's executive producer.
The track list is as follows:
1. Overture
2. Give Them What They Want
3. What Was A Woman To Do
4. Great Big Stuff
5. Chimp In A Suit
6. Oklahoma?
7. All About Ruprecht
8. Here I Am
9. Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True
10. The Miracle
11. Ruffhousin' mit Shuffhausen
12. Like Zis / Like Zat
13. The More We Dance
14. Love Is My Legs
15. Love Sneaks In
16. Son of Great Big Stuff
17. A Message From John Lithgow
18. The Reckoning
19. Dirty Rotten Number
20. Finale
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels features a book by Jeffrey Lane and music and lyrics by David Yazbek (The Full Monty) and stars John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, Sherie Rene Scott, Joanna Gleason, Gregory Jbara and Sara Gettelfinger. The production, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien and
choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, opened on March 3.
The Imperial Theatre is located at 249 West 45th Street.
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