New musical Tokyo Rose releases cast album – stream now!

New musical Tokyo Rose has released an official cast album ahead of its tour.

Following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Tokyo Rose will tour the UK between 16 and 30 October.

Ahead of the dates, a cast album has been made available to stream now on Spotify here.

Composer William Patrick Harrison’s energetic score includes cross-genre tracks encompassing pop, electronic, and neo-classical in a largely sung-through format to tell the story of one of America’s most controversial trials for treason.

The album, spotlighting eight tracks from the show, features the incredible voices of cast members Kanako Nakano (Miss Saigon, West End; Priscilla Queen of the Desert, West End), Maya Britto (Tokyo Rose, New Diorama Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe; Arabian Nights, Hoxton Hall), Lucy Park (Tokyo Rose, New Diorama Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe; Game Face, Q Theatre/Tristan Bates Theatre), Yuki Sutton (Tokyo Rose, New Diorama Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe; Satanic Panic ’87, Channel 4), Amy Parker (Ride, Vault Festival; Dancing By Myself, King’s Head Theatre), and Cara Baldwin (The Marathon Project, online; The Half Moon Shania, Zoo Venues/Vault Festival). The recording was produced by Sam Featherstone, William Patrick Harrison and Hannah Benson.

This powerful original musical is told from the point of view of defendant Iva Toguri, accused of being the notorious wartime broadcaster ‘Tokyo Rose’. Examining a real-life story of scaremongering and scapegoating, Tokyo Rose foregrounds the voice of the individual, so often drowned out by rabble-rousing discourse; something even Iva herself struggles to hold on to during a journey of self-acceptance.

Tokyo Rose provides a female-centric view of a male dominated period of history. Now in a new two-act full length format, this thought-provoking production is a timely examination of xenophobia and anti-Asian sentiment, unfortunately still relevant today. This production celebrates a community whose point of view is not only overlooked in history, but also underrepresented on stage and screen.

> Tokyo Rose musical tour dates and casting

Composer William Patrick Harrison said: “Crafting this album has been a fantastic opportunity to explore innovative new ways to score a musical. We were united as a team in our sweat and determination to realise an unrelenting thrill ride of bops, belters and ballads.

“I cannot wait for audiences to be inspired by the voices of these incredible women as they have inspired me. So, if this album does one thing, then let it be to declare to the world with voices that are powerful, earnest and with the most defiant joy that Iva Toguri lived!”

About the author: Josh Darvill

Josh is Stageberry's editor with over five years of experience writing about theatre in the West End and across the UK. Prior to following his passion for musicals, he worked for more than a decade as a TV journalist.

 

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