The DRG Records (Theatre) original cast recording of Julie Taymor's The Green Bird will hit stores Aug. 22.

The album features original music composed by Elliot Goldenthal, whose credits include such film scores as "Michael Collins," "Interview with the Vampire," "Batman Forever," "Cobb," "Drugstore Cowboy," "Titus" and "The Butcher Boy."

As reported earlier, DRG record executive High Fordin co-produced the cast album for the show on June 5 at the Manhattan Center Studios. Green Bird closed June 4 at the Cort Theatre. Describing Taymor's production of The Green Bird as "a very special show," Fordin said that the creative magic of Green Bird would be "permanently carved in stone" with the cast recording of the score. The album producers have included a special 12-page booklet to accompany the CD. Down from an originally planned 16-pages, the fold-out booklet comprises color photos of the cast, a Goldenthal bio, extensive notes from Taymor. A small green feather is included in the packaging as well.

Last spring, Elliot Goldenthal spoke with Playbill On-Line and said he was particularly enthused about the variation of orchestration he was able to achieve and that the underscoring remained very prominent. "I think the music stands on its own very happily," Goldenthal said, "but I want to be unobtrusive, because if you do your job as a composer, you try not to have the music get in the way of the dialogue or actions."

Goldenthal and Fordin strove to translate visually rich stage performances into a viable ensemble recording. "It has to be what it is, meaning a theatrical piece," Goldenthal said. "That's the smart way to go about it. But it's also a whole different thing if you sing on stage and you're not really a singer, because you have to sing under a microscope in the studio, which is a whole different process." The DRG Theatre label cast recording is being distributed by KOCH.