Wise Children and Plush Theatricals are releasing a live cast recording of Romantic Anonymous, a musical adaptation of the film Les Émotifs Anonymes that played the U.K.'s Bristol Old Vic in 2020. The album will be available for streaming beginning February 14.
The work features a book by director Emma Rice and music and lyrics by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond. The show streamed live from Bristol Old Vic in 2020, and was set to tour the U.S. before the pandemic made that impossible. The story follows an anxious chocolate maker who forges an unlikely love affair after getting a new job at a struggling chocolate factory.
The live album was recorded during the 2020 run and features Marc Antolin as Jean-René; Carly Bawden as Angélique; Brett Brown as Salesman and Fred; Me’sha Bryan as Suzanne and Mimi; Harry Hepple as Ludo and Remi; Laura Jane Matthewson as Young Woman; Sandra Marvin as Magda, Brigitte, and Dr. Maxim; Craig Pinder as Father, Pierre, and Receptionist; and Gareth Snook as Mercier, Mumbler, and Marini.
They are backed by an orchestra led by pianist and music director Tom Brady, also including Sarah Bowler on cello, Sophie Creaner on woodwinds, and Mike Parkin on percussion. Nigel Lilley served as music supervisor, with orchestrations by Simon Hale. Simon Baker has mixed the album, with mastering by Fritz Meyers.
“We were all heartbroken when COVID forced us to cancel the American tour,” says Rice in a statement. “But this glorious live album is the perfect way to preserve the brilliant performances and pure joy of our beloved Romantics Anonymous. We are delighted to be able to share this tender, delicious, and magical musical with the world.”
“We’re thrilled that the live album will allow even more people to discover this piece that we’re so incredibly proud of,” adds Kooman and Dimond. “Romantics Anonymous has already touched so many hearts in the U.K., and now it can continue to reach new audiences around the world.”
Visit RomanticsAnonymous.com.