Broadway celebrities may well be split into two groups Oct. 25. One contingent will be at the Hillary Clinton birthday/fundraiser at the Ford Center. The other will be at St. John's Lutheran Church on Christopher Street, where representatives from 16 shows will be stopping by throughout the day to record individual tracks for a benefit CD, "Broadway's Greatest Hits: Carols for a Cure.".
The Broadway-wide holiday CD comprises holiday selections, original and traditional, performed by the casts of sixteen Broadway shows.
Producer Lynn Pinto told Playbill On-Line that highlights of the project include a version of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," sung by the cast of Annie Get Your Gun, with Bernadette Peters as featured soloist. Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy are contributing an original piece titled "The Gift," previously recorded by Linda Eder but rearranged now for the entire cast of Jekyll and Hyde to sing together. Other highlights include "The Twelve Days of Phantom," a comical number by the cast of Phantom of the Opera, an original carol written by the South African cast of Kat and the Kings, the David Nehls' original "Oh, Funky Christmas Tree," performed by the cast of Chicago, "What Child is This?" arranged by Michael McElroy and performed by members of the cast of Rent, and "I Wonder As I Wander," written by Ann Hampton Callaway and performed as a solo offering on behalf of the cast of Swing.
Spoken messages from such luminaries as Judith Ivey, Andrea McArdle, Ken Page, Howard McGillan, Susan Egan and Rob Evan will also be included on the album.
"For the most part it's original songs or classic carols with new arrangements," Pinto said. "Each show is bringing their own musical component. We gave them a list of public domain carols and a list of people who would be willing to do arrangements." The list of contributing cast members, artists and the songs they will do has not been finalized.
Pinto said the sale of the CD benefits Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, and will be available for purchase at participating shows for $20 (after Nov. 15), or by calling BC/EFA at (212) 840-0770.
The CD is produced and recorded by George Huckins for Rock-it Science Records, with managing producers Julie Prosser and Lynn Pinto. This is the same trio that created last year's "Simple Gifts: Carols from the Abbey", which raised in excess of $43,000 for BC/EFA at The Sound of Music alone.
-- By Murdoch McBride
