Theater News

Unexpected Joy to Record Off-Broadway Cast Album

The new musical is now running at the York Theatre Company.

Celeste Rose, Courtney Balan, and Luba Mason in a scene from Unexpected Joy, directed by Amy Anders Corcoran, at the York Theatre Company.
Celeste Rose, Courtney Balan, and Luba Mason in a scene from Unexpected Joy, directed by Amy Anders Corcoran, at the York Theatre Company.
(© Carol Rosegg)

Unexpected Joy, a new musical featuring a book and lyrics by Bill Russell and music by Janet Hood, will release an off-Broadway cast album with JAY Records. Produced by John Yap, the recording will feature the original cast of the York Theatre Company production, in performances now through May 27. Pop singer and songwriter Brielle Von Hugel has additionally recorded a digital pop cover version of a song from the show titled "When Will I Have My Own," available now here.

Directed by Amy Anders Corcoran and with music direction by Beth Falcone, the four-member all-female cast of Unexpected Joy features Courtney Balan (Falsettos) as Rachel, Allyson Kaye Daniel (Sistas: The Musical) as Lou, Luba Mason (Pretty Filthy) as Joy, and Celeste Rose (Sister Act) as Tamara.

Unexpected Joy is the story of three generations of female singers, long-held family tensions, and a week together where change is in the air. In modern-day Cape Cod, Joy, a baby boomer and proud hippie, is holding a memorial concert for the other half of her popular musical duo, Jump & Joy. When her conservative daughter and her rebellious granddaughter arrive from Oklahoma, the sparks fly as one family seeks to find the common ground in their different values, dreams, and goals.