The recording will be released in stores by PS Classics June 17. The album is produced by PS Classics co-founder Tommy Krasker and Nine composer-lyricist Maury Yeston.
Krasker told Playbill On-Line he expects the disc to be a full 79 minutes, though he reserves the right to expand to two discs if it's decided additional dialogue or other material will be used. The 1982 show by librettist Arthur Kopit and Yeston is now in revival at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, with Banderas as the Fellini-like auteur having a personal and professional crisis as he turns 40. Fans know by now that the score's Act I song, "The Germans at the Spa," has been cut. The musical, inspired by the film "8 1/2," was a Tony Award-winning sensation in 1982, taking the Best Musical prize over Dreamgirls.
The new cast album will include synopsis and essay by director David Leveaux, complete lyrics and more than 24 production photos.
Krasker co-founded the independent label PS Classics with Philip Chaffin. The label is devoted to the heritage of Broadway musical theatre and American popular song. The label recently recorded the original cast album of My Life With Albertine, the new Ricky Ian Gordon-Richard Nelson musical seen at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons.
PS Classics' most recent release is a new studio recording, "The Maury Yeston Songbook," with stars including Betty Buckley, Laura Benanti, Sutton Foster, Brent Barrett, Brian d'Arcy James and more. For more information, visit www.psclassics.com.