GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS will release the London Concept Album of Death Note, The Musical following performances at London’s Palladium and Lyric theatres. The date for the 17-track album will be announced soon at Ghostlight. With score by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bonnie & Clyde), lyrics by Jack Murphy, book by Ivan Menchell, and orchestrations and arrangements by Jason Howland, the forthcoming release will be produced by the legendary Nigel Wright (Evita film, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert), co-produced by production musical supervisor, Katy Richardson (Six the Musical, Bonnie and Clyde, West End and cast recording), and engineered by Nick Pugh.
Adam Pascal (Ryuk) and Joaquin Pedro Valdes (Light)
in Death Note, The Musical at the London Palladium
Based on the best-selling Japanese manga series of the same name written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. the story follows Light Yagami (Joaquin Pedro Valdes), a bright but dissatisfied high school student in Tokyo who comes across a discarded notebook owned by Ryuk (Broadway legend Adam Pascal), a mythological god of death. Discovering he can kill anyone by just writing their names in the supernatural notebook, Light takes justice into his own hands by filling the notebook with names of the nation’s most wanted criminals. But a detective only known as ‘L’ (Dean John-Wilson) is soon tracking him down…
Frances Mayli McCann (center) plays Misa
Other stars of the original Palladium concert include Aimie Atkinson (Rem), Frances Mayli McCann (Misa Misa), Rachel Clare Chan (Sayu), and Christian Ray Marbella (Soichiro). Palladium/Lyric ensemble members featured on the album include Jade Copas, Charlotte Coggin, Eu Jin Hwang, Jessica Lee, Nick Len, Jojo Meredith, Boaz Chad, Marcel Li-Ping, and Yojiri Ichikawa, with additional singers to include Ying Ue Li, Yuki Sutton, Nicola Espallardo, Gracie Lai, Rumi Sutton, Ethan Le Phong, Leon Hong, and Aaron Teoh.
Joaquin Pedro Valdes plays Light, and Dean John-Wilson plays L
Composer Frank Wildhorn says “After the amazing debut of Death Note in Japan and winning Best Musical in Seoul in 2022, it is thrilling to see the reaction and the passion from the fans! I’ve been doing this a while now and this kind of enthusiasm brings me back to the early days of Jekyll and Hyde. It was always a dream of mine to bring my manga shows west and to share them with a western audience in English. What an adventure…and we’re just getting started!â€
photos © Mark Senior
Ghostlight Records has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings – building a library of over 200 records over the past 23 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway’s brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Ghostlight has won Grammy Awards for The Band’s Visit, The Book of Mormon, In the Heights, and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Ghostlight has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Kelli O’Hara, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theater composers and has developed extensive relationships with Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, and David Yazbek, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pasek & Paul, Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Shaina Taub. Ghostlight Records is part of the Arts Music division at Warner Music Group. GhostlightRecords.com
DEATH NOTE THE MUSICAL – TRACKS
0. Overture – Ensemble1. Where Is The Justice? – Light/Professor/Ensemble 2. They’re Only Human – Rem/Ryuk3. Hurricane Light/Ensemble4. Kira – Ryuk/Ensemble5. Ready Or Not Misa/Ensemble
6. We All Need A Hero – Misa/Sayu7. The Game Begins – ‘L’8. There Are Lines Light/Soichiro9. Mortals and Fools – Misa/Rem10. I’ll Only Love You More Misa/Ensemble11. The Way Things Are – ‘L’12. Honor Bound- Soichiro13. Playing His Game – Light/’L’14. Borrowed Time – Misa
15. When Love Comes – Rem/Ensemble
16. The Way It Ends – L/Light17. Requiem – Ensemble