‘Illinoise’ Soundtrack To Be Released On Nonesuch
Nonesuch Records have announced the release of a recording of the current Tony-nominated Broadway show Illinoise: A New Musical on May 31.
A sneak peek of two album tracks – ‘Chicago (Reprise)’ and ‘The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!’ – is available here.
The new work features music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens based on his album Illinois, a book by Tony Award-winning director-choreographer Justin Peck (Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Carousel) and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury (Fairview, Marys Seacole), and direction and choreography by Peck. Details of the CD and LP release date will be announced shortly.
Illinoise moved to Broadway in April of this year, direct from two critically acclaimed sold-out productions at the Park Avenue Armory and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Stevens’ beloved classic ‘springs to epic life on stage’, according to the Washington Post, with live music and vocals, choreography, and narratives centering on self exploration and community set to the entirety of Stevens’ album. Its songs – with new arrangements by composer, pianist, and frequent Stevens collaborator Timo Andres, a Nonesuch artist, and Music Supervision and Direction by Nathan Koci – range in style from DIY folk and indie rock to marching band and ambient electronics, performed by a live band and vocalists.
The album’s band includes Elijah Lyons, Shara Nova, Tasha Viets-VanLear, Christina Courtin, Sean Peter Forte, Domenica Fossati, Daniel Freedman, Kathy Halvorson, Nathan Koci, Eleonore Oppenheim, Brett Parnell, Brandon Ridenour, Kyra Sims, and Jessica Tsang.
The album is produced by Dean Sharenow, Timo Andres, Nathan Koci, Garth MacAleavey, and executive produced by Orin Wolf and Nate Koch. It was edited, mixed, and mastered by Dean Sharenow at Steel Cut Audio and Garth MacAleavey served as recording engineer.
Illinoise was originally developed, produced and premiered at the Fisher Center at Bard. Illinoise is a co-commission of the Fisher Center at Bard, Park Avenue Armory, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Southbank Centre, TO Live, and the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC).