"Somethin' Like Love," the first solo recording from Pasquale, the "Rescue Me" actor currently making his Broadway bow in reasons to be pretty, made its digital debut March 31 on iTunes and other digital services.
Pasquale aligned with acclaimed jazz musician John Pizzarrelli for "Somethin' Like Love." Pizzarelli said in a statement, "Steve has a gift for singing rich, legato lines and has a sound that harks back to another time, while still feeling very much of the present. The result is an intimate performance that's rare for an artist's first solo outing."
Also on March 31, PS Classics' new album of Brendan Milburn-Valerie Vigoda songs from the musical Sleeping Beauty Wakes was released digitally. It's not a cast album; it's performed by the pop trio GrooveLily, of which Milburn and Vigoda make up two thirds. Gene Lewin is on drums and vocals.
Both discs are also available at psclassics.com.
* Pasquale, who received an Outer Critics Circle nomination for his work in Off-Broadway's A Man of No Importance added, "It's always been a dream of mine to make an old-fashioned jazz record. When we went on hiatus due to the writer's strike, I was afforded the time to finally sit down and do what I had always talked about doing."
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| Cover art for "Somethin' Like Love" |
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On the Street Where You Live
Laura
The Lady's in Love With You
Somethin' Like Love
Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep
They All Laughed
Summertime
If I Were a Bell
My Funny Valentine
I Wish I Didn't Love You So
Maybe
Pasquale currently stars in Neil LaBute's reasons to be pretty and was also recently seen in the Roundabout's concert benefit of A Little Night Music. His theatrical credits also include Fat Pig, Beautiful Child, A Soldier's Story, Spinning Into Butter, The Light in the Piazza and The Spitfire Grill. Pasquale is married to actress Laura Benanti.
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Reuniting the creators of the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical Striking 12 — Tony Award-winning librettist Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and GrooveLily's Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda — Sleeping Beauty Wakes received its world premiere in Los Angeles on March 31, 2007, in a co-production between Deaf West Theatre and Center Theatre Group.
Deaf West described the original production as follows: "After her centuries long snooze, Beauty wakes to finds herself far from her fairy tale kingdom in a contemporary sleep-disorder center, where all the princes seem to have disappeared. A delightful twist on Grimms' classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty Wakes takes us on a wild theatrical journey entwined in these two parallel worlds, as Beauty discovers the real costs of flirting with danger, the joy of living and the meaning of true love."
The production received the 2007 Theatre LA Ovation Award for Best Musical, and Milburn won for Best Musical Direction.
The Deaf West production featured a company of both deaf and hearing actors, including Milburn and Vigoda, who sang, acted, signed and played instruments onstage.
PS Classics co-founder Philip Chaffin told Playbill.com, "The collaboration between Rachel Sheinkin and GrooveLily is really magical, and we're thrilled to unveil their latest work. Fans of Striking 12 won't be disappointed — it's as inventive and funny and hypnotic as anything GrooveLily's done, and Rachel's wit is everywhere apparent. As with Striking 12, Val and Brendan had conceived the piece not only as a theatrical venture, but as a GrooveLily performance piece, and it's a delight to hear them take on all the roles, all the while accompanying themselves. It's quite a tour-de-force."
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Lullaby/Dream With Me
Only a King
It's a Girl
Uninvited
I Think You Understand
Out of Harm's Way
Trouble
Drifting
Bring It On
The Wheel Goes 'Round
Everything Changes But You
Eyes Wide Open
Still Small Hours
You Make Me Feel Awake
I Dare Say I'm in Love
The Wheel Goes 'Round (reprise)
I Think You Understand (reprise)/The Wheel Goes ’Round (chorale/finale)
PS Classics previously released two other GrooveLily-oriented discs: a live recording of the musical Striking 12, and "A Little Midsummer Night's Music," featuring GrooveLily songs (with some verse by Shakespeare) from a Tina Landau-directed production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Visit psclassics.com for more information.
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Founded in 2000 by Tommy Krasker & Philip Chaffin, PS Classics, a four-time Grammy nominee (for its cast recordings of Nine: The Musical, Assassins, Grey Gardens and Company), has celebrated the heritage of Broadway and American popular song through its critically acclaimed cast recordings (including the current Off-Broadway hits The Marvelous Wonderettes and Dear Edwina); solo albums by such artists as Maureen McGovern, Victoria Clark and Jessica Molaskey; and recordings drawn from rare sound archives, including "Sondheim Sings" and "Howard Sings Ashman." PS Classics is distributed exclusively by Image Entertainment. Visit www.psclassics.com.
