Broadway Records announced today the release of the world premiere recording of My Marcello.
With music and lyrics by UK twin sister writing duo Rosabella Gregory and Dina Gregory, and book by Corey Brunish, the recording features performances by two-time Tony Award winner Santino Fontana, two-time Tony Award nominated Laura Osnes, two-time Tony Award nominated Terrence Mann, Grammy winning and Tony Award nominated Elizabeth Stanley, Tony Award nominated Derek Klena, Drama Desk Award nominated Raymond Jaramillo McLeod and Drama Desk Award winner and Tony Award nominated Robert Cuccioli. The album will be available on Friday August 20 wherever digital music is sold and on BroadwayRecords.com.
My Marcello is a romantic comedy about death (and a lot more). Set in a small Italian village where there is a scarcity of burial plots, shrinking by the month, particularly in light of a recent circus accident on the highwire. Marcello (Santino Fontana) makes it his personal mission to keep everyone in town alive for as long as possible. Why? His beloved wife, Roseanna (Laura Osnes), is gravely ill and wishes to be buried next to her daughter. For a tiny town cemetery running low on plots, this is a dubious possibility. Enter gangsters, falling church bells, evil landowners, bodies hidden amongst the frozen peas, a passionate couple – all creating the perfect recipe to discover the true meaning of love.
“When I saw the movie “For Roseanna” (also known as Roseanna’s Grave), it was so funny and charming and moving,” says book writer Corey Brunish. “I thought to myself, this would make a great musical. Fast forward 10 years, I had started my Broadway producing career and thought, if not now, when? And so I found twin sisters Dina and Rosabella Gregory, an insanely talented composer and lyricist team hailing from the UK, and knew we had a creative recipe ready to cook up something wonderful. A comedy romance about death? You bet. We hope the listener finds it as enchanting to listen to as it was to craft.
“My Marcello is one of my most treasured projects,“ says lyricist Dina Gregory. “As a young adult, I fell in love with the whimsical humor and poignant beauty of “Roseanna’s Grave,” the 1997 movie upon which this musical is based. The movie’s impact on me was no doubt heightened by the timing of its release, coming not long after the passing of Rosabella’s and my father, Basil Gregory. Years later, when I learned that producer Corey Brunish had secured the rights to adapt the film, I was ready to move mountains to work with him on the musical. Fortunately, Rosie was game, and it only took a few “spec songs” for the dream to come true!”
My Marcello is produced by Michael J Moritz Jr and Corey Brunish, associate produced by Jakob Reinhardt and Deena Zucker, arrangements and orchestrations by Rosabella Gregory, with music direction by Cynthia Meng, engineering by Jakob Reinhardt, mixed by Jakob Reinhardt and Michael J Moritz Jr, with mastering by Greg Reierson at Rare Form Mastering.
