The label's cast recording of Striking 12 is a hot seller. The coming new GrooveLily disc will be called "A Little Midsummer Night's Music" and will consist of original songs and instrumental music from the unique production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in which GrooveLily co-starred last spring at Paper Mill Playhouse and the McCarter Theatre.
The CD will get an early web release, available at the PS Classics website in February 2007 (to coincide with a GrooveLily concert at the McCarter) and be available in stores the second week of April.
For this new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, director Tina Landau "conceived that the lovers' dream within the play would be, in fact, GrooveLily's dream," according to PS Classics. "It was her vision that, except when portraying three of the 'rude mechanicals' in the play within the play, GrooveLily would be onstage underscoring the action and singing with the actors."
Three songs, "Slings of Eros," "While You Were Sleeping" and "When I Dream," emerged, as well as a great many shorter passages, which GrooveLily "has carefully developed and shaped into suites for this new recording."
Written with equal participation and improvisation from all band members, the end result "is an exciting and unique CD," the label promised. GrooveLily's Brendan Milburn said, the production included "some of the most lyrical, lovely, groovy, rhythmically complex and unfettered music we've ever made." GrooveLily's music ignores the boundaries of labels like rock, folk, jazz and pop. With backgrounds in classical music, musical theatre, jazz and rock, GrooveLily's members are Valerie Vigoda (violin), Brendan Milburn (piano) and Gene Lewin (drums).
In addition to the holiday run of Striking 12 at the Daryl Roth Theatre, GrooveLily is working with Deaf West Theatre, Center Theatre Group and Rachel Sheinkin on the musical Sleeping Beauty Wakes. Wheelhouse, the second GrooveLily concert-musical (the hybrid category that Striking 12 falls into) is also in development. For more information, visit www.GrooveLily.com.
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For more information about PS Classics, which celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, visit www.psclassics.com.
