Theater News

Hip-Hop Musical Venice Releases Original Cast Album

”Orange Is the New Black”’s Uzo Aduba is featured on the Public Lab cast recording.

New York City
Composer Matt Sax and the cast of the Public Lab musical Venice, directed by Eric Rosen at the Public Theater.
Composer Matt Sax and the cast of the Public Lab musical Venice, directed by Eric Rosen, at the Public Theater.
(© Joan Marcus)

The original cast recording of Venice, a new musical produced at the Public Theater in June 2013, is now available exclusively online with a digital booklet through iTunes, Amazon.com, and other outlets. The physical CD will be available online and in stores on December 2.

Venice features a book by the production's director Eric Rosen, music by Matt Sax, and collaborative lyrics by Rosen and Sax, as well as additional music by Curtis Moore. Inspired by Shakespeare's Othello, the hip-hop infused rock opera traces a young man’s rise as he fights for what’s right against a backdrop of deceit and sibling betrayal.

The cast features Emmy winner Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), Tony nominee Jennifer Damiano (Next to Normal), Claybourne Elder (Bonnie and Clyde), and Leslie Odom Jr. (Smash), with Victoria Platt, Angela Polk, Semhar Ghebremichael, Devin Roberts, Haaz Sleiman, Manuel Stark, Jonathan-David, Emilee Dupré, and composer Matt Sax, who serves as the production's emcee.