The rat-tat-tat of Meredith's Willson's beloved score for The Music Man will get a new cast recording when Q Records commits the Broadway revival company's work to disc May 1.

Q Records, which previously released an original Broadway cast album of Footloose, will record the new Broadway Music Man, with Craig Bierko as Prof. Harold Hill and Rebecca Luker as Marian Paroo, four days after opening for a quick-turnaround release of June 6. Hugh Fordin, known for his DRG cast albums, serves as free-lance producer on this project.

The new Susan Stroman-directed (and -choreographed) revival opens April 27 at the Neil Simon Theatre, 250 W. 52nd Street, in Manhattan.

The cast also features Max Casella as Marcellus Washburn, Paul Benedict as Mayor Shinn and Ruth Williamson as his wife, Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn.

The creative team includes Thomas Lynch (sets), William Ivey Long (costumes), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting), Jonathan Deans (sound) and David Chase (musical direction), Doug Besterman (orchestrations) and David Krane (dance and incidental music arrangements). The 1957 musical includes songs that have sunk into the American consciousness: "Trouble," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Gary, Indiana," "Till There Was You," "The Wells Fargo Wagon" and more.

For Music Man mavens, in the meantime, the original cast recording, the film soundtrack and a studio recording on the Telarc label (representing film and stage songs) are in stores now.

For ticket information, call (212) 307-4100 or (800) 755-4000.