The Album
Out on All Music Streaming Platforms
Book & lyrics by Lauren Taslitz / Music by Danny Ursetti
Arrangements & Orchestration by Danny Ursetti
photography by Rebecca J Michelson
PRODUCTION
Produced by
Kathy Sommer & Matt Anthony
(Alchemy Music)
Co-Produced by
Danny Ursetti & Lauren Taslitz
Recording Engineer
Matt Anthony
Assistant Recording Engineer
Matthew Soares
Mixing and Editing
Matt Anthony
Mastering
Darcy Proper
Recorded at Power Station at BerkleeNYC
and Engine Sound, NYC
Music Preparation
Danny Ursetti
Graphic Design
Jessie Glass
Photography and Videography
Rebecca J Michelson
Executive Producers
Lauren Taslitz & Danny Ursetti
CAST
Anne – Beth Leavel
Clay – Jeff Blumenkrantz
MUSICIANS
Music Director/Conductor/Piano - Paul Staroba
Violin I / Concertmistress - Cenovia Cummins
Violin II - Martin Agee
Viola - Hiroko Taguchi
Cello - Laura Bontrager
Guitars/Mandolin - Dillon Kondor
Bass - Mary Ann McSweeney
Drums/Percussion – Larry Lelli
Background Vocals – Jacob Fjeldheim, Benji Goldsmith, Cori Jaskier, Danny Ursetti, Amy Weintraub
Additional Orchestrations
by Emily Chiu & Jacob Fjeldhiem
SPECIAL THANKS
William Finn, The HomeBrewed Collective, Yari Bond, and Michael Starobin.
Cast
Tony winner Beth Leavel stars as Miranda Priestley in the new Broadway musical, The Devil Wears Prada, music by Elton John. Most recently, Beth was nominated for a 2019 Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critic’s Circle award for her performance as DeeDee Allen in the critically acclaimed Broadway show The Prom. She received Tony, Drama Desk, NY Outer Critics Circle and L.A. Drama Critics Awards for her performance as the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone; as well as Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her role as Florence Greenberg in Baby It’s You.
Other Broadway roles include Mrs. June Adams in Bandstand, Emily in Elf, Donna in Mamma Mia!, Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein, Dorothy Brock in the revival of 42nd Street, Tess in the original company of Crazy For You, Mrs. Bixby in Lauren Kahane Ellie in Hal Prince's Showboat, and Anytime Annie (Broadway debut) in 42nd Street. Numerous TV, most recently The Walking Dead ( AMC) and The Bite (Spectrum). Beth’s one woman cabaret, It’s Not About Me, has played across the country to rave reviews and sold out venues. In her spare time, Leavel gives back and teaches master classes for students all over the world. MFA from UNC-G. Proud mom to T.J. and Sam and helplessly in love with Adam Heller. Grateful to my BRS/GAGE family.
Jeff Blumenkrantz has appeared in the original Broadway casts of Bright Star, A Class Act, How to Succeed in Business… (1995), Damn Yankees (1994), Threepenny Opera (1989), and Into the Woods (1987), as well as off-Broadway in Murder for Two (Lortel Award nomination). On camera, Jeff can be seen in Succession, Pose, The Blacklist, Mr. Robot, Fosse/Verdon, Madam Secretary, The Big Sick, The Detour, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, Joseph … Dreamcoat, Will and Grace, Law and Order, and the PBS telecasts of the New York Philharmonic concerts of Sweeney Todd and Candide.
Also a composer, Jeff received a Tony Award nomination as one of the co-writers of the score of Urban Cowboy. He wrote the book, music, and lyrics for “Scaffolding,” performed by Rebecca Luker for the 2018 installment of Inner Voices, as well as the incidental music for Classic Stage Company’s The Dance of Death, directed by Victoria Clark. Jeff is the recipient of the 2011 Fred Ebb Award and the BMI Harrington Award, as well as commissions from Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Guggenheim Works and Process. His songs can be heard on The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast (iTunes), as well as I’ve Been Played: Alysha Umphress Swings Jeff Blumenkrantz. Elsewhere, his songs have been recorded by Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Megan Mullally, Rebecca Luker, and Victoria Clark, among others.
Production Team
Alchemy is the collaboration of writer/producers Kathy Sommer & Matt Anthony. Artists they’ve worked with include multi-platinum Grammy nominated Daughtry, Halestorm, Shinedown, Pat Monahan (Train), Darius Rucker, Shontelle & Pinegrove (One of Spin Magazine’s Hottest New Indie Bands) and Erich Bergen (Of TV’s “Madame Secretary”). Between them, they’ve written original music for Nike, HBO, ABC, and Discovery, and they’ve had songs featured on the Super Bowl, David Letterman, and Nurse Jackie, among others. Alchemy is currently working with exceptional new talent in their flagship studio in the heart of midtown Manhattan.
Background Vocals
Jacob Fjeldheim (he/him) is an NYC-based singer-songwriter, arranger, orchestrator, copyist, and music director. He wrote and orchestrated Thomas Sander’s Ultimate Storytime (National tour, 2016) and produced Kara Arena’s Something Blue (LP, 2022). Select arranging/orchestrating: The Show on the Roof (Boise Contemporary Theatre), William Finn’s Ridiculously Talented… (Barrington Stage), R&H Goes Pop! (Rodgers & Hammerstein). Music preparation: Audra McDonald (Carnegie Hall), Between the Lines (Second Stage), Joy (George Street), Bruce (Seattle Rep), A Walk on the Moon (George Street), Anthem: Homunculus (John Cameron Mitchell & First Look Media). Solo EP Local Call streaming now.
IG: @thefjeld
Amy Weintraub, praised for being “a powerhouse” (Princeton Found) with “a voice that soars” (US1) is thrilled to be working with Lauren and Danny once again. Amy has appeared in various regional and off-Broadway productions, including: She Loves Me, #Adulting, It Came From Beyond, and Frankenstein. She has also been seen onstage at New York’s Lincoln Center, 54 Below, Princeton Festival, TMTP, and as a finalist in the esteemed Lotte Lenya Competition. Amy graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she earned a BM in Vocal Performance and a BA in theatre. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University.
musicalamy.com, @ames5486
Benji Goldsmith is a composer and songwriter as well as a music director, conductor, arranger, vocalist, and teacher. Benji is a native New Yorker and lives in Brooklyn.
Benji’s writing spans genre and form, encompassing concert music, opera, and musical theater, as well as pop and electronic music. His music, shows, and songs have been performed at Ars Nova, Trinity Rep, Barrington Stage Company, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, 54 Below, New World Stages, and various other venues in New York and across the country. He was selected for both the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project and the NMI New Voices Project, and is a recipient of the ASCAP Frederick Loewe Scholarship, the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Award, and Yale’s Beekman Cannon Friends of Music Prize.
Recent Music Direction credits include Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), Scaffolding by Jeff Blumenkrantz (dir. Victoria Clark, starring Rebecca Luker), Butterflies (Barrington Stage Company, dir. Graciella Daniele, starring Donna McKechnie), Regretting Almost Everything (Barrington, 54 Below), Tim Rice’s From Here to Eternity (Conductor), and William Finn’s The Royal Family of Broadway (Barrington, Assoc. MD).
As a vocalist, Benji has performed with the Yale Whiffenpoofs (which he also music directed), at Tanglewood (soloist), in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus, and at many cabaret venues in New York City. Benji is also a crossword constructor who has been published in The New York Times. Benji holds a BA in Music from Yale and an MFA from NYU Tisch.
Cori Jaskier is so excited to be a part of this album! She is a graduate of NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. Most recently seen in the ensemble of For You Paige on TikTok. Past projects: TheaterWorksUSA’s Charlotte’s Web (Charlotte), Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical (Ensemble), the off-Broadway premiere of The Scarlet Savior (Emma), new musicals including Lauren Taslitz’s and Danny Ursetti’s Mimosa (Mimosa), The Valley (Colby), America Project (Madison) and Rapture (Vickie), and Ray Evans Seneca Theater’s productions of Avenue Q (Kate Monster), Into the Woods (Cinderella), and Rent (Maureen). She would like to thank her family and friends for their constant love and support.
Lauren Taslitz and Danny Ursetti are an intergenerational writing duo who have been writing songs and musicals together since meeting at NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing in 2016. “They write songs that are outrageous, wise, and honest…always interesting and often thrilling” (Broadway World).
Musical Theatre writing credits include: Regretting Almost Everything (Barrington Stage, 54 Below), A Statue Of Stature (Prospect Theater Company, 10 min), In My Book (Coastal Carolina University), and Mimosa (7/8 Musical Collective Choreography Lab/Workshop, Singapore; NY Theatre Barn New Works Series; Michigan State University Virtual Residency, Broadway’s Future Songbook at Lincoln Center, NAMT 15min Musical Winner).
Taslitz and Ursetti’s songs have been performed all over the country, including prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and are regularly performed by Broadway’s best performers.
Lauren and Danny are founding members of The HomeBrewed Collective, first level winners of NAMT’s 15 Minute New Musical Competition and recipients of a City Artist Corps Grant. Upcoming: Regretting Almost Everything (Concept Album) featuring Beth Leavel and Jeff Blumenkrantz (March 2023), and the first HomeBrewed Collective concert, (June 2023).
For more information please visit:
laurentaslitz.com and dannyursetti.com.