EXCLUSIVE: First Listen to Conrad Ricamora on the Soft Power Cast Album

Ghostlight Records will release the original cast recording of David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's Soft Power on digital and streaming platforms on Friday, April 17. Today, we bring you a track from the score. "The New Silk Road" is sung by star Conrad Ricamora and the company. Listen below:

The Public Theater, which produced the musical off-Broadway last fall, will present a virtual listening party on April 17 at 8pm ET, with funds raised going to support the Public and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. You will be able to join in here.

The complete cast of Soft Power includes Billy Bustamante (Xuē Xíng Standby), Jon Hoche (Chief Justice/Hālǐ Àohālā/Ensemble), Kendyl Ito (Jīng/Prof. Lǐ Bìyù/Ensemble), Francis Jue (DHH), Austin Ku (Bobby Bob/Jū Míng), Raymond J. Lee (Randy Ray/Yáo Tuō/Veep/Ensemble), Alyse Alan Louis (Zoe/Hillary), Jaygee Macapugay (Betsy/Lóng Lín Kūn/Ensemble), Daniel May (Ensemble), Paul HeeSang Miller (Ensemble), Kristen Faith Oei (Ensemble), Geena Quintos (Airport Greeter/Ensemble), Conrad Ricamora (Xuē Xíng), Trevor Salter (Ensemble), Kyra Smith (Ensemble), Emily Stillings (Swing), Emily Trumble (Zoe/Hillary Standby), and John Yi (Swing).

Soft Power, which received five Lucille Lortel Award nominations, is an exploration of America's current place in the world, told through an East-West musical from China's point of view, in which a theater producer from Shanghai forges a powerful bond with Hillary Clinton. Soft Power is a fever dream of modern American politics amid global conversations, asking us all — why do we love democracy? And should we? It features a score by Tesori, book and lyrics by Hwang, and direction by Leigh Silverman.