I'm proud to be a co-producer of the Broadway revival of PIPPIN. In recent weeks our opening night festivities, the overwhelming number of award nominations, and the night after nights of spectacular show stopping performances has made for a lot of thrilling moments.
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Then, this week, behind an unmarked door, in a shockingly silent room, just steps from the clamor of Times Square, I got to witness another extraordinary event.  The talented cast and creatives of PIPPIN came together in the studio to record a new cast recording of Stephen Schwartz's fabulous score.

It was an amazing experience to literally hear history being made. Like most people who didn't grow up in Manhattan, my first access to Broadway was via cast albums. Sitting in my living room on the west coast,  I'd listen to them over and over, memorizing every word and every intonation, mimicking each performer's vocals and intonations as best a 12 year old girl can. I’ve listened to the original Broadway cast recording of PIPPIN hundreds of times.

And, by the way, it was fun to see Ben Vereen in the audience on PIPPIN’S opening night last month beaming back at the new cast!

Back at the recording studio, listening to Stephen Schwartz directing PIPPIN’s star, Patina Miller, to make tiny changes to this word or that phrase to be captured and enjoyed for decades to come was thrilling. It was a treat to hear Diane Paulus and Stephen Schwartz talk philosophically about how to invoke the right emotion when the chorus sings, "Eagles belong where they can fly..."  And seeing the talented cast in street clothes and no make-up invoking the magic of the show with just their voices was truly amazing.

It's easy to assume that cast albums just appear at some point after a show opens on Broadway but the truth is, Broadway shows aren't guaranteed cast albums. Only if a producer or someone involved in the show decides to put up the money, does an album happen. It seems a  shame that good shows can come and go with no album. Unfortunately, recording costs average anywhere from $200,000 to north of $500,000 so it takes a real commitment to get an album made.

Fortunately, PIPPIN's producers were eager to immortalize this fantastic cast as well as the beautiful new orchestrations and I can tell you now, you won’t want to miss this album. Be sure and look for this fresh new cast album of PIPPIN in June!

Read all of Brisa’s Pieces here.
You can reach Brisa on twitter: @brisatrinchero. I also blog about the art and business of new musicals at www.makemusicals.com. I look forward to hearing from you