Ghostlight Records will release the Original London Cast Recording of Rags for digital purchase and streaming May 15, with a physical release planned for later this year. Pre-orders, now available, include an immediate download of the track "Children of the Wind." The cast album will be available on Amazon, iTunes, and Apple Music.
Get an exclusive first listen to Alex Gibson-Giorgio and Carolyn Maitland singing "Blame It On the Summer Night" below.
The recording preserves the production that played London's Park Theatre earlier this year, which originated in 2019 at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre. It also reflects a substantial revision to the work since its 1986 Broadway premiere.
With a score by Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz and a book by Joseph Stein and David Thompson, Rags centers on America's immigrant past, following a group of Jewish immigrants as they arrive in America. The original Broadway outing was short-lived, with just 18 previews and four performances, but the show has since become a cult favorite among theatre fans.
The recording features Gibson-Giorgio as Sal, Maitland as Rebecca, Dave Willetts as Avram, Sam Attwater as Bronfman, Debbie Chazen as Anna, Rachel Izen as Rachel, Samuel Jones and Jude Muir as David, Martha Kirby as Bella, Oisin Nolan-Power as Ben, and Jeremy Rose as Jack. The ensemble includes Arthur Boan, Angela Caesar, Adam Crossley, Drew Dillon, Matthew Gent, and Natasha Karp.
The album has been produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Joe and Nikki Davison at Auburn Jam Music, with Schwartz serving as executive producer, Nick Barstow as music producer and orchestrator, and Joe Bunker as musical director.
Rags in London was directed by Bronagh Lagan, with choreography by Philip Michael Thomas, orchestrations by Barstow, set and costume design by Gregory Donnelly, lighting design by Derek Anderson, sound design by James Nicholson, casting by Jane Deitch, and children's casting by Keston and Keston. Katy Lipson produced for Aria Entertainment, in association with Knockhardy Productions, Edward Prophet, People Entertainment Group, Park Theatre, and Hope Mill Theatre. The production was presented by arrangement with MTI Europe.
