PS Classics is a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals, founded in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin. Recent Broadway cast recordings from PS Classics include '' Xanadu'', ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in ...

'', the revivals of ''

110 in the Shade ''110 in the Shade'' is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt. Based on Nash's 1954 play '' The Rainmaker'', it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, ...

'', ''

Pacific Overtures ''Pacific Overtures'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler. Set in 19th-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting in 185 ...

'', '' Fiddler On The Roof'', and ''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

'', as well as the premiere recordings of ''

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, a ...

'', ''

A Year with Frog and Toad A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'', '' My Life With Albertine'', ''

Zanna, Don't! ''Zanna, Don't!'' (subtitled "A Musical Fairy Tale") is a 2003 musical written by Tim Acito with additional lyrics and material by Alexander Dinelaris. The story is set in a parallel universe where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality i ...

'', ''Through the Years'', '' Striking 12'', ''

Only Heaven ''Only Heaven'' is the fourth album by Industrial band The Young Gods. It was released in 1995 on Interscope Records. Accolades The information regarding accolades acquired from AcclaimedMusic.net Track listing # "Outside" - 0:31 # "Strangel" ...

'' and ''

First Lady Suite ''First Lady Suite'' is a chamber musical by Michael John LaChiusa. The musical contains four separate segments about four of the First Ladies of the United States of America and the people surrounding them. They are: Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Eise ...

''. In May, 2006, PS Classics released their first London cast album, the London revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. In an unprecedented move, it recorded ''Grey Gardens'' twice, replacing the off-Broadway recording with a complete Broadway recording. Having a long-standing association with Stephen Sondheim, the label has released seven albums of work by the composer. They also have long-standing relationships with composers

Maury Yeston Maury Yeston (born October 23, 1945) is an American composer, lyricist and music theorist. He is known as the initiator of new Broadway musicals and writing their music and lyrics, as well as a classical orchestral and ballet composer, Yale Uni ...

and

Ricky Ian Gordon Ricky Ian Gordon (born May 15, 1956) is an American composer of art song, opera and musical theatre. Life Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam, and he grew up on Long Island with his three sist ...

. In addition to their Broadway cast albums, PS Classics has also released a slew of solo albums by Broadway and cabaret stars such as

Christine Andreas Christine Andreas (born October 1, 1951) is an American Broadway actress and singer. Biography Andreas was born in Camden, New Jersey, to James Francis Andreas, a systems analyst, and Teresa Cecilia Genovese Andreas. She graduated from Suffern ...

, Tony Award nominee

Rebecca Luker Rebecca Luker (April 17, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American actress, singer, and recording artist, noted for her "crystal clear operatic soprano" and for maintaining long runs in Broadway musicals over the course of her three-decade-lo ...

, Tony Award nominee

Kerry Butler Kerry Butler is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work in theatre. She is best known for originating the roles of Barbara Maitland in ''Beetlejuice'', Penny Pingleton in ''Hairspray'', and Clio/Kira in '' Xanadu'', the latt ...

, Tony Award winner

Victoria Clark Victoria Clark (born October 10, 1959) is an American actress, musical theatre singer and director. Clark has performed in numerous Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television works. Her soprano voice can also be heard on innu ...

, Tony Award nominee

Jason Danieley Jason D. Danieley (born July 13, 1971) is an American actor, singer, concert performer and recording artist. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and was married to fellow performer Marin Mazzie. Career Ben Brantley, in a review of ''Curtains' ...

Jackie Hoffman Jacqueline Laura Hoffman (born November 29, 1960 in Queens, New York City) is an American actress, singer, and comedian known for her one-woman shows of Jewish-themed original songs and monologues. She is a veteran of Chicago's famed The Second ...

Lauren Kennedy Lauren Kennedy (born September 3, 1973) is an American actress and singer who has performed numerous times on Broadway. She is now the producing artistic director of Theatre Raleigh in her home state of North Carolina. Education Kennedy was bor ...

, Grammy nominee

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from '' ...

Jessica Molaskey Jessica Molaskey (born January 9, 1962) is an American professional actor and singer of torch songs and show tunes. She has appeared in a dozen Broadway shows, including '' Sunday in the Park with George'', ''Tommy'', '' Crazy for You'', ''Chess' ...

, Jane Olivor, label co-owner Philip Chaffin, the band Groovelily, and several others. They also issued the CD debut of

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, '' ...

's 1955 solo album, "Songs I Taught My Mother" as well as the songbook albums of composers

and Georgia Stitt. PS Classics has also partnered with the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

on their acclaimed "Songwriter Series", in which musical theatre composers/lyricist sing their own work. Four composers have been released through PS Classics:

Hugh Martin Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garland ...

Charles Strouse Charles Strouse (born June 7, 1928) is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as '' Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause'', and '' Annie''. Life and career Strouse was born in New York City, to Jewis ...

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

and

Howard Ashman Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

. In 2008, PS Classics released its first soundtrack, for the critically acclaimed musical film, ''

Were the World Mine ''Were the World Mine'' is a 2008 romantic musical fantasy film directed by Tom Gustafson, written by Gustafson and Cory James Krueckeberg, and starring Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams, Jill Larson, Ricky Goldman, Natha ...

''. They also made their first foray into

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, releasing Ricky Ian Gordon's ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

'', in a live recording of the

Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...

production. PS Classics also maintains a not-for-profit companion label, PS Classics, Inc., which is dedicated to the location and restoration of lost scores and musical theatre material. Their first project was the restoration and all-star recording of ''Fine and Dandy'', a 1930s musical by

Kay Swift Katharine Faulkner "Kay" Swift (April 19, 1897 – January 28, 1993) was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a hit musical completely. Written in 1930, the Broadway musical '' Fine and Dandy'' includes s ...

, one of the first female composers on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Their recent releases include two volumes of the ''Sondheim Sings'' series, a collection of demo recordings by composer Stephen Sondheim which highlight some of his early, lesser-known work. The PS of PS Classics is named for Krasker and Chaffin's two dogs, Please (an Australian cattle dog) and Sumner (a bull terrier).Beghtol, December 9, 2003 PS Classics is based in Bronxville, New York.

Notes and references

* Beghtol, L.D.
"Show-tune kings"
'' The Advocate'', December 9, 2003. Accessed 21 October 2008. *Holden, Stephe
"Grand Broadway Voices, Yours for a Song"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 16, 2006. Accessed 21 October 2008. *Jones, Kennet
"PS Classics Has New Nonprofit Arm to Record Vintage Shows"
'' Playbill'' January 26, 2004. Accessed 21 October 2008. *Kuchwara, Michael
"A Charlotte Rae Recording Is Born Again"
''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

'', December 18, 2006. Accessed 21 October 2008. *

Simonson, Robert Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988. Career Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...

br>"The Melody Lingers On: Small Labels Keep Theatre Music Alive
''Playbill'', March 29, 2007. Accessed 21 October 2008.

External links

PS Classics official site
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 2000