JAY Records will take troupers into a studio Jan. 8 to record the cast album — a solo disc. John Yap will produce the album. He said he's aiming for a summer 2008 release for the disc.

Two songs from The Glorious Ones have already made their way into concerts and cabarets: "Opposite You" and "I Was Here." Vocal selections from the show will be available through Alfred Music within the next month or so.

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The commedia dell'arte-flavored, Italian Renaissance-set The Glorious Ones opened at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center Nov. 5. Previews began Oct. 11.

Playing 16th-century showfolk are Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch, Erin Davie, Natalie Venetia Belcon, John Kassir, David Patrick Kelly, Jeremy Webb and Tony Award nominee Julyana Soelistyo. According to LCT, The Glorious Ones is the "backstage story about the lives, loves, merriment and manipulations of a troupe of bawdy, witty improvising street performers — the commedia dell'arte actors of 16th-century Italy... It tells how the troupe came to be, in all its ragged, colorful glory, and how it captured the public's adoration for so long before losing the spotlight." The troupe's life and art are — like so many art forms throughout history — "cast aside in the wake of newer artistic fashion and changing morals."

Based on the stock-characters of commedia dell'arte, The Glorious Ones features an ensemble cast of commedia's seven archetypal characters: The charismatic leading man (Marc Kudisch), the sly harlequin (Jeremy Webb), the quack "dottore" (John Kassir), the old miser (David Patrick Kelly), the voluptuous leading lady (Natalie Venetia Belcon), the devoted dwarf (Julyana Soelistyo) and the elegant moon woman (Erin Davie).

Graciela Daniele, who directed and choreographed the world premiere of The Glorious Ones for the Pittsburgh Public Theater, repeats her duties for the Lincoln Center staging.

The Glorious Ones, based on a novel by Francine Prose, has music by Stephen Flaherty and book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Ahrens & Flaherty are the Tony Award-winning songwriters who wrote Ragtime and Seussical. The duo has enjoyed a partnership with Lincoln Center Theater beginning with their musical My Favorite Year and continuing with productions of A Man of No Importance and Dessa Rose.

The creative team includes Daniel S. Ostling (scenic designer), Mara Blumenfeld (costume designer), Stephen Strawbridge (lighting designer) — all continuing their work from Pittsburgh — plus sound designer Scott Stauffer.

Orchestrations are by Michael Starobin and musical direction is by David Holcenberg.

For more information about new releases from JAY Records, visit www.jayrecords.com.

For LCT information, visit www.lct.org.