A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast. A cast recording featuring the first cast to perform a musical in a particular venue is known, for example, as an "original Broadway cast recording" (OBCR) or an "original London cast recording" (OLCR).
Kurt Deutsch is an actor, director, record producer and film producer. He is the president and co-founder, with then-wife Sherie Rene Scott, of Sh-K-Boom Records. In 2017, the company became a division of Warner Music Group's Arts Music, he and Scott divorced, and he became Senior Vice President for Theatrical & Catalog Development for Warner Chappell Music.
In the Heights is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is a romance as well as a celebration of community, culture, and dreams. It is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, New York City. The score blends hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and soul.
Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second imprint, Ghostlight Records, dedicated to the preservation of traditional musical theater, spurred by the popular release of their first-ever show cast recording, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. Together the two labels have over 200 albums in their catalogues. The company has also produced over 50 live concerts as part of their Sh-K-Boom Room Concert Series, and are currently developing new and innovative projects for the stage and screen.
Wicked is a cast recording containing the majority of the songs from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked, with music and lyrics by composer Stephen Schwartz and a book by writer Winnie Holzman. Released on December 16, 2003 by Decca Broadway both in physical and digital releases. The former contains a foreword and a short synopsis, provided by Gregory Maguire, who wrote the 1995 novel on which the musical is based, in addition to lyrics to those songs included.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals In the Heights (2005) and Hamilton (2015), and the soundtracks for the animated films Moana (2016), Vivo, and Encanto. He has received numerous accolades including a Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Grammy Awards, along with nominations for two Academy Awards. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.
Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.
The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording contains the songs from the American musical The Book of Mormon, with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. It was recorded by the musical's original Broadway cast and released on May 17, 2011 to digital outlets. The album saw a physical release on June 7, 2011, in a deluxe package with liner notes provided by former The New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich, as well as full lyrics and a synopsis of the musical. The Book of Mormon was named best musical theater album at the 2012 Grammy Awards.
The Broadway cast recording of the musical My Fair Lady was first released April 2, 1956 by Columbia Records, with songs by Lerner and Loewe, conducted by Franz Allers, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews. Columbia president Goddard Lieberson provided the $375,000 needed to stage the show in return for the rights to the cast recording.
Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung-and-rapped-through biographical musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Based on the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, the musical covers the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the American Revolution and the political history of the early United States. Composed over a seven-year period from 2008 to 2015, the music draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes. It casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers of the United States and other historical figures. Miranda described Hamilton as about "America then, as told by America now".
Anthony Paul Ramos Martinez is an American actor and singer. After graduating in musical theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, he began working in stage musicals. In 2015, he originated the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton. He received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance in the 2020 stage recording of the play.
Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album to the 2015 musical Hamilton. The musical is based on the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton written by Ron Chernow, with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The recording stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, Anthony Ramos, Okieriete Onaodowan, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Jonathan Groff. The ensemble features Jon Rua, Thayne Jasperson, Sydney James Harcourt, Ephraim Sykes, Ariana DeBose, and Sasha Hutchings. The musicians on the album are Alex Lacamoire, Kurt Crowley, Andres Forero, Robin Macatangay, Richard Hammond, Benny Reiner, Jonathan Dinklage, Erin Benim Mayland, Anja Wood, Mario Gotoh, and Laura Sherman. It achieved the largest first week sales for a digital cast album and is the highest-charting cast album since 1963. It was the highest-selling Broadway cast album of 2015 and peaked at number one on the Rap Albums chart, the first cast album to ever do so. After being certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2023, Hamilton became the best-selling cast album of all time. It is also considered one of the best ever musicals.
The Hamilton Mixtape is a 2016 mixtape album featuring assorted songs from the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton performed by various artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Wiz Khalifa, Nas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Dessa, Miguel, Chance the Rapper, Nate Ruess, K’naan, Aloe Blacc, and the Roots. It was widely well received by critics.
In the Heights is a 2021 American musical drama film directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes based on the stage musical of the same name by Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film stars Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace in her film debut, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, and Jimmy Smits. The film follows a similar plot to the musical, telling the story of a corner in the predominantly Dominican community of Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, where every member of the community pursues their sueñitos for a better life.
Moana: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2016 Disney animated film of the same name. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on November 19, 2016. It features songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i, with lyrics in English, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tuvaluan. The two-disc deluxe edition includes the score, which was composed by Mancina, as well as demos, outtakes and instrumental karaoke tracks. The record also produced two singles.
Mary Poppins Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the film of the same name. The songs and score for the film were composed by Marc Shaiman, with song lyrics written by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on December 7, 2018.
The musical Hadestown, written by American singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and based on her 2010 studio album of the same name, has had two official cast recordings. In addition, various songs from Hadestown were re-recorded by Mitchell for her 2014 studio album Xoa, including the musical's opening number "Anyway the Wind Blows" which had not appeared on the original concept album. The song "Why We Build the Wall" has been covered by a variety of artists, including English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg for his 2017 EP Bridges Not Walls, Ben Fisher, Ben Dunham, Lilli Lewis, and Robert Neustadt.
Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to Disney's 2021 film of the same name. Released by Walt Disney Records on November 19, 2021, the album contains eight original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and produced by Mike Elizondo that were recorded by various singers, and 27 score pieces composed by Germaine Franco. It was released in 44 languages in addition to English and Spanish.
In the Heights is the soundtrack album to the 2021 American film In the Heights, based on the stage musical of the same name. The original tracks are written and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who co-produced the track along with Alex Lacamoire, Bill Sherman and Greg Wells. The soundtrack album was released by Atlantic Records and WaterTower Music on June 10, 2021, the same day as its U.S. release, and peaked at number one on Billboard's Soundtracks Chart.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is the cast album for the 2014 Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Released digitally on April 1, 2014 and physically on May 13, through Ghostlight Records, it featured the cast members performing the songs of Carole King in the Broadway show. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2015.
