Masterworks Broadway Announces Full Slate of Fall Releases

NEW YORK, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Masterworks Broadway continues to make good on its promise to open the vault of its unparalleled musical theater catalog with a full slate of releases this fall.  Three classic cast recordings previously unavailable in the CD era – What Makes Sammy Run?, The Chocolate Soldier and The Zulu and the Zayda – will be available as downloads through all major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand.  Also coming this fall are eight recently out-of-print recordings including Weird Romance and Broadway-themed albums from Johnny Mathis.

The October 19 reissue of the Grammy-nominated What Makes Sammy Run? makes its long overdue first appearance on CD using the original stereo master. The musical version of Budd Schulberg's classic Hollywood novel opened in 1964 featuring Steve Lawrence, who earned a Tony® nomination in his Broadway debut and co-starred Robert Alda and Sally Ann Howes. What Makes Sammy Run? was the most successful Broadway venture of composer/lyricist Ervin Drake (Frank Sinatra's "It Was a Very Good Year") and features orchestrations by Don Walker, conducted by legendary maestro Lehman Engel. What Makes Sammy Run? will be available as a download through all major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand with the original cover art and liner notes exclusively through Arkivmusic.com.

The reissue of Oscar Straus's The Chocolate Soldier features opera legends Rise Stevens and Robert Merrill, plus Broadway stars Peter Palmer (Li'l Abner) and Jo Sullivan (The Most Happy Fella).  Lehman Engel led a number of studio recordings in the 1950s in what was then state-of-the-art sound, preserving the scores of great musicals and operettas that predated the LP era, including this 1958 album. The Chocolate Soldier will be available November 16 as a download through all major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand with the original cover art and liner notes exclusively through Arkivmusic.com.

The December 7 reissue of Harold Rome's The Zulu and the Zayda is a genuine curiosity in the Broadway catalog. Set in contemporary South Africa, it imagines a burgeoning friendship between a sociable old Jewish grandfather (zayda) and the native (Zulu) he hires as a companion. Rome's score allows the characters to pause and reflect in song, cleverly illustrating the different cultural elements at play in the story. The cast includes Yiddish theater star Menasha Skulnik, Louis Gossett Jr., Ossie Davis and Yaphet Kotto. The Zulu and the Zayda will be available as a download through all major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand with the original cover art and liner notes exclusively through Arkivmusic.com.

Masterworks Broadway also continues its commitment to release recently out-of-print recordings every week with the following titles which will be available as downloads through all major digital service providers:

Masterworks Broadway is a label of Sony Masterworks.  For email updates and information on Masterworks Broadway please visit www.masterworksbroadway.com.

SOURCE Masterworks Broadway