The Hired Man CD

59E59 Theaters has announced that following positive New York notices for the New Perspectives production of The Hired Man at Brits Off Broadway, 1,000 copies of the new original cast recording were rushed to New York due to overwhelming audience demand. The CD is available for purchase for $25 at 59E59 Theaters (59 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison Avenues). 
 
The new CD, recorded as-live in studio, was intended for a soft launch in London later this month. The date has been brought forward following the enthusiastic audience response to the show in New York. 
 
The Hired Man is in a limited run through June 29 at the 2008 Brits Off Broadway festival at 59E59 Theaters.  I saw it recently and really liked it (review posted June 12).

I wondered if the show would be recorded because the music, by Howard Goodall, is good and deserved to be captured and shared. I was singing it in my head as I left the theatre and the man in front of me was singing it out loud. My friend Mary said some theatregoers were singing it on a nearby corner as they waited for the light to change and she joined in. And my friend Dudley read my review and sent me an e-mail saying he saw the show years ago and always remembered how powerful the music was.

This certainly isn’t always the case. So many musicals plod along with really limp music. I receive quite a few cast recordings each spring as a Drama Desk voter and donate most of them to the Performing Arts Library because they aren’t worth taking up space on my music shelves. If the producers send me this one, however, I definitely won’t be giving it away. I’ll be listening!