Cass Morgan, Donna Bullock Sing on Magic Tree House Studio Cast Album

By Kenneth Jones
June 5, 2007

PS Classics is partnering with Barnes & Noble on the June 5 release of a new CD based on the best-selling series of children's books, Mary Pope Osborne's "Magic Tree House," which has sold over 47 million copies in North America.

The new studio cast album for Magic Tree House: The Musical — which will be realized live on stage later this year — is on sale exclusively at Barnes & Noble, bn.com, and the PS Classics website June 5-Sept. 4, at which point it will be released "wide."

The period of exclusivity coincides with Barnes & Noble's annual Summer Reading Series, for which Mary Pope Osborne is this year's spokesperson.

Magic Tree House: The Musical "brings Osborne's enchanting tales to life onstage," according to production notes. "This new musical was written by Mary's husband, author and playwright Will Osborne; he takes his cue from the 29th book in the series, 'Christmas in Camelot,' but adds characters, deepens relationships, and expands themes to create a theatrical event for the entire family."

Using strings, woodwinds, percussion, and piano, composer Randy Courts (Jack's Holiday, A…My Name Is Alice, The Gifts of the Magi) blends traditional Celtic influences with contemporary theatre music sensibilities, "creating a joyous and melodic score unique to the worlds of Camelot and the Magic Tree House."

Will Osborne penned book and lyrics, Randy Courts music and lyrics.

A stage production of Magic Tree House: The Musical will premiere at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, CT, in September, with plans for a national tour in the fall of 2008.

The album's cast includes Cass Morgan (currently in Broadway's Mary Poppins) as Morgan le Fay, Donna Bullock (Ragtime, A Class Act) as Queen Guinevere, and veteran film and television actor Howard Sherman as Merlin. Osborne's young protagonists, Jack and Annie, are played by New York actor Paul Wyatt and Connecticut native Katie Brunetto.

The track listing follows:

1. "How Far Can You See?"
2. "Banquet in Camelot"
3. "Tick Tock"
4. "Banquet in Camelot" (reprise)
5. "The Curse"
6. "Not the Man He Was"
7. "Who Will Go?"
8. "Four Gifts"
9. "Fly!"
10. "What's So Great About Magic?"
11. "The Dance"
12. "What Would I Do Without You?"
13. "Remember and Imagine"
14. "I Remember"
15. "Banquet in Camelot" (reprise)/"Finale"

Family-friendly music is nothing new to PS Classics, the Grammy Award-nominated label known for its cast albums, solo discs and songbooks. PS Classics previously released cast recordings for A Year With Frog and Toad and Captain Louie.

For more information, visit www.psclassics.com.