Rufus Wainwright announces multi-artist concert celebrating the music of John Cassavetes' OPENING NIGHT
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT ANNOUNCES MULTI-ARTIST TOWN HALL CONCERT CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF JOHN CASSAVETES’ OPENING NIGHT
ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING FROM 2024 WEST END MUSICAL SET TO BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 12 VIA CENTER STAGE RECORDS MUSIC AND LYRICS BY RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
CELEBRATION FOR ALBUM PLANNED WITH ONE-NIGHT-ONLY EVENT SET FOR SEPTEMBER 15 AT NEW YORK’S TOWN HALL WITH APPEARANCES BY SARA BAREILLES, LAURA BENANTI, DARREN CRISS, PATTI LUPONE, ELIZABETH TEETER, AND RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
A PORTION OF EVERY TICKET SOLD AT CONCERT WILL BENEFIT THE ACLU
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE HERE
3x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright announces an original West End cast recording of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night and release concert with Broadway stars at Town Hall on September 15th. Pre-orders for the physical CD are available now. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wainwright says, “I could not be happier to bring the music from my first stage musical Opening Night to a New York audience. Town Hall has been a musical home to me and my family in New York for decades and to be on stage with Sara, Patti, Darren, Elizabeth, and Laura is going to be a great thrill. To have all these Broadway legends agree to bring the songs from Opening Night in their original orchestration to life is a great honor and I am thrilled that we are raising money for the ACLU at the same time.”
John Cassavetes' Opening Night is the first stage musical with music, lyrics, and orchestrations by Rufus Wainwright. It premiered in London at the Gielgud Theater in the spring of 2024. The book and direction were by Ivo van Hove and is based on the 1977 movie Opening Night by American avant-garde director John Cassavetes. It tells the story of an actress, Myrtle Gordon, who is premiering a play written for her that is about a woman coming to terms with aging. Myrtle does not come to terms with her own aging and rebels against the play and throws the entire production into jeopardy. A young female fan asking her for an autograph at the stage door gets killed by a car as she runs off onto the street. Myrtle is being haunted by the ghost of the young girl. On opening night, she arrives completely drunk but ultimately does what she does best: act and improvise. Part "All About Eve" Opening Night is the story of an actress who risks madness for her truth.
The live album features Wainwright’s songs written for the original London West End production performed by the cast including Sheridan Smith, Nicola Hughes, and Benjamin Walker recorded over the last 4 performances of the play at London’s Gielgud Theater. Details and a first single will be released soon.
Tickets for the concert can be purchased here. A minimum of $30 per ticket sold will be donated to the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project.
The release of the album is being celebrated by a one-night-only concert at Town Hall, in New York City which will feature performances by a group of friends Wainwright has in the music and stage world including Sara Bareilles, Darren Criss, Patti LuPone, and Elizabeth Teeter. Wainwright will join this cast of talented performers and sing some of the songs himself, and act as the MC, leading through the evening and explaining the story of the musical. Jason Hart, who was in Rufus' band for many years, is the music director and is leading the 13-piece band that will perform Wainwright's original West End arrangements.
“(Opening Night) shakes up musical theatre itself”
“While Wainwright has always shown a genius for creating whole sonic and emotional worlds in brief songs, he reaches new heights here.”
ABOUT THE ACLU:
The ACLU is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, multi-issue public interest organization devoted to protecting the civil liberties of all people in the United States. The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union - beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees. The ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project works to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people can live openly without discrimination and enjoy equal rights, personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association.
ABOUT MURMRR:
Murmrr is an independent, New York-based producer curating world-class performances across music, comedy, literature, film, and the arts. Unbound and creatively driven, we present both iconic and emerging talent while staying deeply rooted in community. We exclusively program premier venues in New York, the Hamptons, Miami, Washington D.C., and beyond—crafting meaningful moments for diverse artists and audiences alike.
ABOUT THE TOWN HALL:
The Town Hall’s mission is to provide affordable world-class entertainment by new and established artists to a diverse audience; to inspire the youth of our community to appreciate and participate in the arts at The Town Hall and in schools through our Education Outreach Program; and to preserve and enhance The Town Hall as a historic landmark venue for the enjoyment and cultural enrichment of generations to come. Originally founded in 1921 by suffragists, this national landmark has played host to countless cultural and musical milestones. Its vibrant, progressive, and diverse programming has solidified its status as an iconic New York City institution.
ABOUT CENTER STAGE RECORDS:
Center Stage Records is the new label from Broadway Records founder, Grammy Award and Tony Award-winner, Van Dean. The label is dedicated to the preservation of Broadway, London, Off-Broadway, new musicals in development and theater-related solo albums. Center Stage Records premiered with the original Broadway cast recordings of How to Dance In Ohio and Gutenberg the Musical, Steven Pasquale’s “Some Other Time” with John Pizzarelli and the Original London Cast Recording of Mandela the Musical. Recent release include the Broadway revival cast albums of Floyd Collins starring Jeremy Jordan, Once Upon a Mattress starring Sutton Foster, Lea Salonga’s “Sounding Joy - The Holiday Album”, JC Chasez and Jimmy Harry’s “Playing With Fire”, Patti LuPone’s new double album “A Life in Notes”, and the London recording of Alice Down the Rabbit Hole. Select highlights of the Center Stage Records back catalog include the Grammy-nominated albums of Burt Bacharach & Steven Sater’s Some Lovers and Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots, as well as the Classic Stage Company hit revival of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins, Lewberger’s The Wizard of Friendship, and the West End cast albums of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Ride. Additionally, solo albums from Norbert Leo Butz, Bobby Conte, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Sierra Boggess, Laura Benanti, Orfeh and Andy Karl, Micky Dolenz, Michael Longoria and many more. To peruse the entire catalog, please visitCenterStageRecords.com. Follow Center Stage Records on all social platforms @centerstagercds.
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