Bright Lights, Big City CD — with Patrick Wilson — Hits Stores June 21

By Andrew Gans
June 21, 2005

Sh-K-Boom Records releases Paul Scott Goodman's rock opera Bright Lights, Big City June 21.

The eagerly awaited recording stars Patrick Wilson as Jamie, the role he created in the musical's original Off-Broadway production. In a statement, actor Wilson said, "Bright Lights remains one of the closest shows to my heart. I was surrounded by incredible people in both the original production and in the recording. Everyone can relate to the character of Jamie . . . grappling with his past, scared of his future, destroying the present. But it's a hopeful ending, and one that can finally be listened to on demand!"

The complete track listing for the single CD follows:
"Bright Lights, Big City"
"Back in the City"
"Sunday Morning 6 a.m."
"Coma Baby"
"Fact and Fiction"
"I Hate the French"
"Brother"
"I Hate the French" (reprise)
"Odeon"
"Happy Birthday Darling"
"Missing"
"To Model"
"So Many Little Things"
"Back in the City 2"
"Kindness"
"Perfect Feeling"
"Bright Lights, Big City 2"
"You Couldn't Handle It Jamie"
"My Son"
"Wednesday"
"Camera Wall"
"Heart and Soul"
"Brother 2"
"Mummies at the Met"
"Are You Still Holding My Hand?"
"Brother 3"
"Monstrous Events"
"Stay in My Life"
"Wordfall"

The cast recording also features the talents of former Renter Jesse L. Martin, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' Sherie Rene Scott, Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole, La Cage aux Folles' Gavin Creel, The Producers' Richard Kind, Brooklyn's Eden Espinosa, Swing!'s Everett Bradley as well as Anne Marie Milazzo, Sharon Leal and Spelling Bee's Celia Keenan-Bolger.

Based on the novel by Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City concerns the life of young New Yorker Jamie, who seems to have it all: good looks, a successful model wife, a job at a prestigious magazine and many friends. During one week, however, his life spins out of control and his search for his true self begins anew. The Off-Broadway production at New York Theatre Workshop was directed by Rent's Michael Grief. Composer Paul Scott Goodman was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. Bright Lights was the first major production of his work.

A revised version of Bright Lights, Big City was presented in concert at the Guggenheim's Peter Lewis Auditorium, part of the museum's "Works and Process" series. Kurt Deutsch — of Sh-K-Boom Records — directed the Guggenheim evenings with musical direction by Roger Butterley. The recording features this version.

Visit www.sh-k-boom.com for more information.