Response from Sh-K-Boom's Kurt Deutsch re: Everyday Rapture Album

[ChildofDestiny]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:00pm

Hey guys - I emailed Kurt Deutsch, the producer and owner of Sh-K-Boom and Ghostlight, and asked him why there was no dialogue on the Everyday Rapture album. He actually wrote me back and I thought it was worth sharing. (Of course I asked him if that was ok before I came to post!) This is what he said:

***
I am glad you wrote and asked that question because we thought long and hard about what we wanted this album to be. We felt we had a few choices.
1. We could make an album of the show. Literally, record all of the stories, the underscoring the songs, the whole show.
2. Make an edited version, with a little dialogue, song lead-ins etc or,
3. Make an album of songs that are in the show with a couple of exceptions.

Sherie did not want to record Strongest Suit or Killing Me Softly. She felt Strongest Suit exists in a definitive rendition on the AIDA cast album, and at the time (off-Broadway) she only sang a few lines of Killing Me Softly. When we started exploring ways of making the "story album" we came into a major roadblock. Every line of the stories are connected to every other line and the stories are so carefully interwoven into the songs to cut dialogue or have a line of lead in dialogue into a song would have ultimately been an unsatisfactory listening experience for all of the creatives including myself. So we scrapped it. And none of us wanted a live album.

So what we ended up agreeing on with was to create an album that for a person who has experienced the show, when you listen to the songs on the album would make them remember and relive their experience at the theatre and give them the feeling of what those songs represented in the context of the show. That to me is what a cast album should be. If people had not seen the show then it is understandable that they may say, I wish I had more context, that is an odd collections of songs. But the renditions and the songs are great and the performance of them is hopefully a pleasurable listening experience.

A cast album cannot take the place of the live experience and this show is different because the songs are not story songs or typical Broadway theatre songs. They are an eclectic variety of great songs that help tell the story of Everyday Rapture. We did not want to make a book on tape version of the show because our feeling is that an album of songs people listen to over and over and can listen to forever. An album of stories intercut with songs you will listen to a handful of times and then it will sit on your shelf.

Did we make the right decision? For some yes. For others maybe not, I don't know. I am very proud of the album of Everyday Rapture. I feel it captures the performance of the songs beautifully and for me, makes me remember the Kansas Section, The New York chapter, the Four Leaf clover story, It fills me with Good Feelings for Mr. Rogers. Who knows one day there may be a live version of the show filmed and we will get to watch and listen to the stories.

Anyway, thanks for your question. I hope that clarifies it for you. And most of all thanks for supporting musical theatre and purchasing our cast albums. Your support is what keeps us going.

Sincerely,
Kurt Deutsch
[e-mail]

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:03pm

What a nice man.

[TheKandyLife]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:09pm

wow, he is such a nice person! this is Sheries husband isn't it? bagged a winner haha.

i think this show would be an amazing film, if done correctly of course!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:14pm

Very cool. Thank you for sharing that.

[wexy]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:18pm

Just saw the show Friday and it was very nice of him to get back to you and in detail.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:23pm

Thanks for sharing this. I won a copy of the cast album signed by Sherie and after listening to it, did not understand some of the song choices, etc. I was one of those people that wished there were more context and dialogue. I am glad Kurt Deutsch responded the way he did because it wasn't in any way rude and gave a good amount of information and detail to why the cast album is the way it is. This email response sounds like it could have been in the liner notes! haha.

[bwayfascination]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:27pm

Thanks so much for posting this. That's really nice.

I actually bought the album and decided I needed to see the show. So I worked it into a trip from California, and not only did I love the show, but now I have a completely different appreciation for the album.

So it appears that I was the target market dude for this album.

[timote316]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:32pm

If I'm not mistaken, other emails from Deutsch have been posted here, and they were just as thought out, thorough and eloquent as this one.

I've always thought of Sh-K-Boom as one of the best companies around with their public relations and customer service.... this is a prime example.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:38pm

Is Kurt related to Didier C. Deutsch perchance? Really nice letter. Thanks for sharing.

[heo1128]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 1:46pm

Really interesting, thanks so much for sharing!

But this begs the question…why did they leave in the bit of dialogue in "You Made Me Love You"? Sure, it connects the two pseudo-endings to the song, but they certainly could have retooled the song to make it work, much like they did with the Mr. Rodgers Medley. Not that I mind the dialogue, I just think it's an interesting choice when they wanted to make the album solely a collection of songs.
Updated On: 7/12/10 at 01:46 PM

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 3:20pm

"Who knows one day there may be a live version of the show filmed and we will get to watch and listen to the stories."

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 3:35pm

What a nice guy! Hopefully his wish of filming the show happens somewhere. I would love to see it tour, but I know that won't happen because sadly Sherie is a no one outside of NYC.

[Broadway 1001]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 6:33pm

Anyone know where I can get an instrumental/kareoke version of this album? My friend wants to have a singer sing "it's you i like" at her wedding and needs a track. Thanks!

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 6:37pm

It's a song from Mr. Rogers, I doubt there is a karaoke track of it. lol

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/12/10 at 10:17pm

Thanks for sharing! He is so well spoken, and he gives solid reasons as to why the album is what it is. I love this guy!

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 7/13/10 at 12:13am

Heo, I haven't listened to the cast recording yet, but I saw the show. My guess would be that the dialogue is included in "You Made Me Love You" because there is similar dialogue in the song as Judy sings it, although she sings to Clark Gable. It's kind of key in mimicking the original song.