Hair Recorded by Actors’ Fund Benefit Concert Cast

In sessions held yesterday at The Hit Factory on West 54th Street in Manhattan, the cast of The Actors’ Fund of America’s recent benefit concert performance of Hair recorded the score of the Galt MacDermot-Gerome Ragni-James Rado musical for Ghostlight Records. Produced by Kurt Deutsch and Joel Moss, the recording features the complete score and original orchestrations of the seminal rock musical.

The September 20 concert at the New Amsterdam Theatre raised more than $500,000 for The Actors’ Fund; profits from Ghostlight’s cast album will further aid the fundraising effort. The cast of Hair includes Shoshana Bean, Laura Benanti, Kathy Brier, Gavin Creel, Darius de Haas, Lea de Laria, Harris Doran, Raúl Esparza, Ana Gasteyer, Annie Golden, Ann Harada, Jennifer Hudson, Ledisi, Norm Lewis, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Euan Morton, Julia Murney, Orfeh, Adam Pascal, Billy Porter, Jai Rodriguez, RuPaul, Christopher Sieber, Shayna Steele, John Tartaglia, Toxic Audio, Lilias White, and a chorus of 20. Seth Rudetsky, the producer and musical director/conductor of the concert, led the singers and musicans for the recording sessions.

Ghostlight Records, a new division of the independent label Sh-K-Boom, will be launched on November 16 with the release of three new recordings: the City Center Encores! production of the Sigmund Romberg-Oscar Hammerstein II operetta The New Moon; the Irish Repertory Theatre production of the classic Burton Lane-E.Y. Harburg musical Finian’s Rainbow; and In Your Dreams, a new studio album by Tony Award winning actress-singer Christine Ebersole with pianist Billy Stritch, based on their acclaimed cabaret show. The release date for the Hair recording has not yet been set.