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The new musical Alone will release its concept album on August 7, 2026. Penned by emerging songwriting duo John Ertman and Joseph Mathusek, Alone: The Concept Album features a rotating ensemble of Broadway performers – including Taylor Iman Jones (SIX, Elephant Shoes – Two River Theater), Linedy Genao (Bad Cinderella, currently in The Great Gatsby), Zachary Noah Piser (Redwood, currently in Maybe Happy Ending). Principal characters are played by different performers on each track. This is to underscore the album’s core mission: to reflect the material’s far-reaching resonance across America’s diverse communities, where themes of autonomy, friendship, and resilience hit home for audiences everywhere.
At its heart, Alone is a coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of a tight-knit small town. The story centers on Mia, a young woman chafing under her overprotective mother’s watchful eye and yearning for control over her own path. When what appears to be an unexpected pregnancy upends her world following a summer romance gone awry, Mia and her closest high school friends find themselves at the epicenter of vicious local gossip. What unfolds is a raw, heartfelt journey of self-discovery, as Mia grapples with the complexities of impending adulthood, the sting of judgment, and the unbreakable bonds that define true independence.
The album is directed by Susanna Wolk (& Juliet, Waitress National Tour) and helmed musically by Patrick B. Phillips (The Wiz, Suffs, Little Miss Perfect – Olney Theater), the album boasts a dream team of Broadway talent bringing the score to life. In addition to Piser, Jones, and Genao, standout performers include Adi Roy (Aladdin), Rachel Webb and Kim Onah (both from & Juliet), Michael Nigro (The Sound of Music: Live!), Nathan Levy (Dear Evan Hansen), Claire Kwon (Maybe Happy Ending), Sarah-Anne Martinez (“Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” – HBO, West Side Story – Paper Mill Playhouse), Cassidy Sledge (The Twenty-Sided Tavern – Off-Broadway and National Tour), and young phenom Ellis Gage (The White Rose, Next To Normal – Taiwan). The cast is rounded out by Kaela O’Connor, Amanda Gabriel (An Officer and a Gentleman – National Tour), Natalie Pereira, Katherine Ertman, Rachel Weintraub (SNL), Harrison O’Callaghan, Jonah Ruderman, Original Northwestern Cast Members Andy Hartman and Gray Watson, alongside creators Ertman, Mathusek, and MD/MS Phillips.
The recording, produced by Alexander Kariotis (Sony/Red) with additional music production from Mathusek, Phillips, and Ertman, features lush orchestrations and vocal arrangements by Mathusek and Phillips. Backed by a stellar studio band (conducted by Phillips) – including violinists Pauline Kim Harris, Brandon Jackson, Conrad Harris, and Nathan Bishop, violists Nikki Federman and Laura Miller, cellists Sasha Ono and Hannah Burke, guitarist Hal Hirsch, bassist Kevin Brown, and percussionist Alan Michaels – the album was engineered by multi-Grammy winner Roy Hendrickson alongside Evan Bakke, Anthony Rutolo, Scott Birs, and Kariotis. Mastering duties fell to another industry titan, Ted Jensen (multi-Grammy winner, Waitress Original Broadway Cast).
