News

PLAYBILL PRESENTS: We Aren't Kids Anymore Virtual Release Concert 4/25

Drew Gasparini hosted a virtual concert of his new album We Aren’t Kids Anymore exclusively for Playbill April 25, featuring interviews with and performances from the LP’s vocalists Lilli Cooper (Tootsie), Raymond J. Lee (Soft Power), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels), and Colton Ryan (Girl From The North Country). Viewers can watch the whole event in the video above.

We Aren’t Kids Anymore explores the realities of growing up all arenas of life: career, family. love, and more. Released April 10, the song cycle will eventually be available to license for amateur and professional theatres via Concord Theatricals.

https://www.playbill.com/article/drew-gasparini-hosts-virtual-concert-for-we-arent-kids-anymore-april-25?fbclid=IwAR1z5ejmxzGY7SMQoZLXhCOOx2viHUxJVi0oTpFChzKC1d2qRG1YN6lhrk4

Source: https://www.playbill.com/article/drew-gasp...

Studio Cast Album for WE AREN'T KIDS ANYMORE Available NOW Everywhere!

The original studio cast album of Drew Gasparini’s BRAND NEW song-cycle “We Aren’t Kids Anymore” is now available everywhere music can be found!

We Aren't Kids Anymore  explores the collision of artistic expression and the realities of growing up. How do we hold on to our childhood dreams and ideals as adult disillusionment sets in?  How do we sustain life as artists without settling for others’ definitions of success?  And how do we recover when we lose those battles?  This new theatrical song cycle was born of Drew Gasparini’s journey forging a creative path and navigating the world at large, and his desire to offer empathy and hope to everyone doing the same.

The album features performances from Broadway mega talents Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton), Tony Nominee Lilli Cooper (Tootsie), Raymond J Lee (Groundhog Day), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels), and Colton Ryan (Dear Evan Hansen). Produced by Justin Golder, Erica Rotstein, and Drew Gasparini.

Listen to the full album HERE.

Source: https://found.ee/gasparini-kids-mus?fbclid...

Drew Gasparini to write the score for Broadway-bound adaptation of THE KARATE KID

Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote the screenplay for The Karate Kid, is at work on a musical adaptation of the 1984 Columbia Pictures movie. Joining him on the creative team are composer Drew Gasparini (We Aren't Kids Anymore), director Amon Miyamoto (2004's Pacific Overtures), and husband-and-wife choreographers Keone and Mari Madrid (the upcoming Once Upon a One More Time).

Also on board is Tony-winning set designer Derek McLane. No word yet on casting or a production timeline for the Broadway-aimed project, about a new-in-town teenager who learns to defend himself with the help of Gōjū-ryū master Mr. Miyagi.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think this little movie would reach across generations the way it has," said Kamen. "And beyond my wildest dreams did I think what started out as a love letter to my devotion to Okinawan Karate and the man who taught me would become a full-blown Broadway musical. But here it is. Here I am. And here is hoping that what comes to the stage brings the same joy and relevance The Karate Kid has brought to countless kids and their parents for the past 35 years. Go figure."

The musical will be produced by Kinoshita Group, Kumiko Yoshii, and Michael Wolk.

Source: https://www.playbill.com/article/a-musical...

WE AREN'T KIDS ANYMORE Workshop at CNU

I just came back from Christopher Newport University in VA where we did a workshop production of my new song cycle, WE AREN’T KIDS ANYMORE. I worked with director Ilana Ransom Toeplitz and we were blown away by the talent, professionalism, and heart that the CNU students brought to the project. Also, we had an amazing time! More about the release of WAKA soon. (PS, that’s my favorite project acronym ever.)

I COULD USE A DRINK Re-release Party @ 54 Below! 9/9/19

FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club, will present a Re-release Party for Drew Gasparini’s beloved album I COULD USE A DRINK: THE SONGS OF DREW GASPARINI tonight, September 9th, 2019 at 7pm and 9:30pm.  Gasparini will be joined by original vocalists from the album including Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice, School of Rock), Kacie Sheik (Hair), Alex Wyse (Waitress, Spring Awakening), and more.

Composer Drew Gasparini returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below for his annual back-to-school party and this time in celebration of his album I COULD USE A DRINK.  Released in 2013 by Broadway Records and produced by Charlie Rosen, I COULD USE A DRINK introduced many Gasparini standards and best-sellers, including “If I Had You,” “Valley High,” and “A Little Bit.”  This concert will be a rare opportunity to hear the original vocalists from the album perform these songs again, live!  Join us for an evening of nostalgia and greatest hits, coupled with classic Gasparini bacchanalia. 

Reprising their work on the album will be Brightman, Sheik, Wyse, Andrew Kober (Beautiful), F. Michael Haynie (Wicked),  Blake Daniel (Spring Awakening), Eric Michael Krop (Godspell), Gabriel Violett (The Voice), Kasie Gasparini (Mamma Mia!), and Chloe Gasparini (Saint Adeline). They will be joined by new friends and voices Reneé Rapp (Mean Girls), Troy Iwata (Be More Chill), Natalie Weiss (“Breaking Down The Riffs”), Julia Mattison (Godspell), Keith White (A Bronx Tale), Heath Saunders (Great Comet), Raymond Lee (Aladdin), Anoop Desai (American Idol), Melissa Rose Hirsch (The Bad Years), Brenna Coogan (Island Song), Rachel Skalka (Once Upon a Time in the Berkshires), Keaton Whittaker (A Little Night Music), Alexis Myles, Michael Coale Grey, Morgan Reilly, and introducing Amara Breisch.  They will be accompanied by Gasparini (piano), Justin Goldner (bass), Alex Nolan (guitar), and Jeremy Yaddaw (drums).

Tickets and more information here.

Source: https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/arti...