Alright, theatre friends - you know that I love new musicals, so of course, I had to share all about For Tonight and it’s upcoming concept album being released on July 30th!
For Tonight is a new musical from Shenelle Salcido and Spencer Williams, which is based on the journals of Williams’ third great grandfather.
The story begins in 1832, in a small town in Northern Wales where a Romani family travels through town, finding shelter on the farm of the Parry family. Soon after their arrival, the Parry parents die from an unknown disease and the Romani travelers are forced to go into hiding after being blamed for bringing “filth and death” to Trelawnyd.
For Tonight follows the three Parry children, Thomas, Haydon and Nettie, in the aftermath of their parents’ death. While the eldest brother, Thomas, struggles with the guilt of events surrounding the Romani’s departure, Haydon, runs off to Liverpool in search of a new life, leaving Nettie behind to deal with the overbearing Thomas. In Liverpool, Haydon falls in love with Mirela, a Romani woman, who poses a threat to his already strained family relationships. Haydon quickly learns however, that bias runs on both sides and that Mirela’s family will not accept a gadje (an outsider). This requires Haydon and Mirela to keep their love a secret. When events back home call Haydon to return, he and Thomas must finally face their past, and all three siblings face their biggest fears.
Through a riveting score, the atmospheric soundscape blends traditional Welsh choral, indie-pop, folk, and Romani inspired melodies and rhythms. At its core, For Tonight is an exploration of the power and meaning of home.
This upcoming album release is more cast recording than concept album, and was recorded and pieced together during a global pandemic, without the artists even being in the same room as each other!
The album also features a wonderful cast from across the U.K and is lead by Simon Gordon (Girl From the North Country, Bat Out Of Hell) as Haydon Parry, Amy Di Bartolomeo (We Will Rock You, Bat Out Of Hell) as Mirela Kascht, Dale Evans (Kinky Boots, Showboat) as Thomas Parry, Erin Caldwell (Unravelling, Twist and Turn) as Henrietta (Nettie) Parry, Jade Davies (Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera) as Molly Llewellyn, Luke McCall (Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera) as Winn Lewis, Jake Halsey-Jones (Hamilton, Spring Awakening) as Durriken Kascht, Soophia Foroughi (The Prince of Egypt, Broken Wings) as Syeira Kascht, Glain Rhys (graduated from The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2019) as Anne Parry and John Ieuwan Jones (Welsh National Opera, Grange Park Opera) as Joseph Parry.
The cast also includes Jordan Allan, Eva Chelsea, Joey Cornish, Sam Ebenezer, Sion Emlyn, Michelle Beth Herman, Hannah Qureshi, Samantha Thomas, and Mared Williams.
The piece has orchestrations by Salcido, additional arrangements by Joseph Purdue and Drew Wutke, audio production and mixing by Joseph Purdue, music ensemble direction by Iestyn Griffiths and Romani script consultancy by Raine Geoghegan. The concept album is produced by Blair Russell, who has worked on Slave Play and the immersive Sweeney Todd.
The album will be released on all major digital platforms on July 30th, and I definitely have the day circled on my calendar! I have a feeling that this show will easily become one of my musical obsessions, and I’m sure it’ll be one of yours too!
My co-host Crissy and I had the opportunity to chat with the show’s creators Shenelle Salcido and Spencer Williams, as well as the orchestrator for the concept album, Joseph Perdue on
our theatre podcast, Breaking The Curtain.
I love speaking with people who are passionate about their art, and this interview was such a
special treat. I am working on getting the episode transcribed for those of you who prefer to
read, but in the meantime, you can listen to it at the link below:
You can find out more about For Tonight on their website here:
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