Legendary label behind Wicked and MAMMA MIA! cast recordings reignites with release of new cast albums for hit musical Tootsie and acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! – 76 years after its original release on the label

NEW YORK, April 17, 2019 – In 1943, Decca Broadway released the first-ever cast album of all time. The musical was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s groundbreaking Oklahoma!. Fast forward 76 years, the newly-relaunched Decca Broadway, part of Verve Label Group, announces the release of the new cast recording for the revival of Oklahoma! and the hit musical Tootsie. Both albums are being recorded and set for release this spring/summer.

Decca Broadway has been at the forefront of musical theatre recordings over the past seven decades. The historic label released The Phantom Of The Opera, one of the most successful cast recordings of all time, having gone 4x platinum. It has also released numerous iconic cast albums including the multi-platinum hits Wicked and MAMMA MIA!, as well as Rent, Les Miserables, Carousel and Guys and Dolls.

Decca Broadway has the most GRAMMY awards for “Best Show Album” including for Wicked, Spring Awakening, Spamalot, Les Miserables, Cats, Evita, Riverdance and Funny Girl. Additionally, Decca Broadway’s catalogue features over 55 Tony Award winning performances and “Best Musical” winners including Billy Elliot, The King and I, Guys and Dolls, and Man of La Mancha.

Dickon Stainer, President and CEO of Universal Classics and Jazz and Verve Label Group, says: “Decca Broadway’s legacy is bar-none the best in the musical theater business. With multi-platinum recordings, Grammys, and Tonys in our catalogue, we’re thrilled to relaunch Decca Broadway with two of the most-talked-about Broadway musicals on the scene right now. We are proud to continue the great legacy of this storied, successful label.”

Decca Broadway is part of Verve Label Group (Universal Music Group) and is relaunching with cast albums for hit musical Tootsie, produced by Grammy Award-winning producers Dean Sharenow and David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit) and the hit revival Oklahoma!, produced by Dean Sharenow and Daniel Kluger.

The 2019 revival of Oklahoma! is making history as the first time the Rodgers and Hammerstein estate has allowed new arrangements of the original score. The New York Times said of these new versions, “The well-known melodies have been reimagined – by the brilliant orchestrator and arranger Daniel Kluger – with the vernacular throb and straightforwardness of country and western ballads.” Daniel Fish’s reimagined revival of Oklahoma! officially opened April 7 at Circle in the Square Theatre. The cast is led by Rebecca Naomi Jones as Laurey and Damon Daunno as Curl and the cast album will be produced by Dean Sharenow and Daniel Kluger.

The new comedy musical Tootsie, adapted from the 1982 film, began previews on Broadway March 29, following an acclaimed out-of-town tryout in Chicago last fall. Variety called Tony-winner David Yazbek’s score “strikingly over-the-top: You know something’s right when the music itself feels witty.” Meanwhile, The Chicago Tribune commented, “The sound has a movie-score quality… many of his tempos are arrestingly up – so much so…that they keep amping the pleasures of the piece.” Tootsie officially opens at the Marquis Theatre April 23. Tony nominee Santino Fontana leads the cast as Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime – as the star of a new Broadway musical.

The cast recordings for both Tootsie and Oklahoma! are due to be released on Decca Broadway this spring/summer. These new recordings promise to reinvigorate the illustrious label and continue its great legacy, capturing the best of Broadway today.

For more information:
www.deccabroadway.com
Facebook – https://Verve.lnk.to/DeccaBroadwayFBPR 
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About Decca Broadway
Decca Broadway, recently relaunched as an imprint of Verve Label Group, is the industry leader in musical theater recordings. In addition to having released some of the best-selling cast albums of all time including Wicked, MAMMA MIA!, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent and more, Decca Broadway has received the most GRAMMY awards of any label for “Best Show Album.” Decca Broadway’s catalog features over 55 Tony Award winning performances for “Best Musical.” The first release under the relaunched label will be the cast album for 2019’s reboot of Tootsie, a new comedy musical starring Tony Award nominee Santino Fontana. Find out more at: www.deccabroadway.com

About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries. Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. Universal Music Group is a Vivendi company.

More About Oklahoma!
OKLAHOMA! features music by RICHARD RODGERS and a book and lyrics by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II. The creative team includes: DANIEL KLUGER (Orchestrations, Arrangements & Music Supervision), JOHN HEGINBOTHAM (Choreography), NATHAN KOCI (Music Direction), LAURA JELLINEK (Scenic Design), TERESE WADDEN (Costume Design), SCOTT ZIELINSKI (Lighting Design), DREW LEVY (Sound Design), and JOSHUA THORSON (Projection Design). Casting is by WILL CANTLER and ADAM CALDWELL/Telsey & Co.

Directed by DANIEL FISH, OKLAHOMA! stars WILL BRILL as Ali Hakim, ANTHONY CASON as Cord Elam, DAMON DAUNNO as Curly McLain, JAMES DAVIS as Will Parker, GABRIELLE HAMILTON as Lead Dancer, REBECCA NAOMI JONES as Laurey Williams, WILL MANN as Mike, MALLORY PORTNOY as Gertie cummings, ALI STROKER as Ado Annie, MITCH TEBO as Andrew Carnes, two-time Tony Award-nominee MARY TESTA as Aunt Eller, and PATRICK VAILL as Jud Fry. The cast also includes: CHRIS BANNOW, DEMETIA HOPKINS-GREENE, SASHA HUTCHINGS, DENVER MILORD, KRISTIE DALE SANDERS, and CHELSEA LEE WILLIAMS.

More About Tootsie:
TOOTSIE features an original score by Tony Award-winner DAVID YAZBEK (The Band’s Visit, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), a book by ROBERT HORN (13; Dame Edna, Back with a Vengeance), choreography by Tony Award nominee DENIS JONES (Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas), and musical direction by ANDREA GRODY (The Band’s Visit). TOOTSIE will be directed by eight-time Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winner SCOTT ELLIS (She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century).

Music supervision is by Andrea Grody & Dean Sharenow, vocal & incidental arrangements by Andrea Grody, dance arrangements by David Chase, orchestrations by Simon Hale, and music coordination by Dean Sharenow.

The company is led by Tony Award nominee SANTINO FONTANA as Michael Dorsey, LILLI COOPER as Julie Nichols, SARAH STILES as Sandy Lester, JOHN BEHLMANN as Max Van Horn, ANDY GROTELUESCHEN as Jeff Slater, JULIE HALSTON as Rita Marshall, MICHAEL McGRATH as Stan Fields, and REG ROGERS as Ron Carlisle.

The company also includes SISSY BELL, BARRY BUSBY, PAULA LEGGETT CHASE, BRITNEY COLEMAN, LESLIE DONNA FLESNER, JENIFER FOOTE, JOHN ARTHUR GREENE, DREW KING, JEFF KREADY, HARRIS MILGRIM, ADAM MONLEY, SHINA ANN MORRIS, JAMES MOYE, KATERINA PAPACOSTAS, DIANA VADEN, and ANTHONY WAYNE.

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