Rent Closing Notice Pushes Original Cast Album Back On the Billboard Chart | Playbill

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News Rent Closing Notice Pushes Original Cast Album Back On the Billboard Chart News of the impending close of Rent on Broadway seems to have spurred sales for the show's cast recording, which has re-entered the Billboard Top Cast Album chart.

The Jonathan Larson musical announced Jan. 16 that the long-running Broadway show will end June 1. The DreamWorks cast album marked its 29th week on the chart by edging in at No. 15.

Decca Broadway's Wicked tops this week's chart with Rhino's Jersey Boys cast recording placing at No. 2. The two musicals have remained in the first two positions for several months.

The new Mel Brooks-Thomas Meehan Broadway musical Young Frankenstein (also on Decca Broadway), Legally Blonde (on Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom) and Xanadu (PS Classics) round out the top five.

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's musical tale Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has remained on the chart for more than a month in two versions: the original Broadway cast recording (Masterworks Broadway), with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou, holds the No. 8 position, while the new Broadway cast recording (Nonesuch), with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris, charts at No. 14.

Along with Wicked, the cast recordings of Mamma Mia! (Decca Broadway), Avenue Q (RCA Victor) and Monty Python's Spamalot (also on Decca) have remained on Billboard's Top Cast Album Chart for the full 108 weeks since the chart's inception. *

Legally Blonde recently joined the company of those that have unseated the release of Stephen Schwartz's Wicked — which has topped the chart for 89 of the 108 weeks the chart has been published. The only other recordings to topple the stronghold are Spring Awakening, the Columbia Records two-disc "Harry On Broadway" release (with Broadway's The Pajama Game revival and selections of Connick, Jr.'s Thou Shalt Not) and The Color Purple for one week each.

Jersey Boys has held the top spot on the chart for the most times (15 total weeks) other than constant chart-topper Wicked. The Four Seasons musical had previously enjoyed a four-week run at No. 1 following its Tony Award win as Best Musical and also reclaimed the countdown's lead position the week of Feb. 8. Then prior to its recent four-week streak, it also held the top spot for a six-week run (ending Nov. 8, 2007).

Billboard can be found on the web at www.billboard.com. Full charts are available by subscription at www.billboard.biz.

 
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