If the Stars Were Mine, the debut album from Claybourne Elder, best known for starring in HBO’s “The Gilded Age” and Broadway’s Company, in a special vinyl edition today, Friday, July 24.
After three sold-out shows earlier this year, Elder will return to the New York nightclub 54 Below for two concerts on Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9. For tickets, please visit the venue’s website HERE.
Elder is currently appearing in the hit Off-Br0adway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. He is a featured performer in the immersive show We Chose to Go to the Moon – recorded at Carnegie Hall and directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer – which premieres on PBS this fall. He recently starred in the New York City Center Encores! production of Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party.
Using sensitive and passionate musical arrangements – alternating between pop-inspired and swinging jazz – If the Stars Were Mine features Elder’s favorite numbers from Broadway musicals ranging from Sunday in the Park with George and Floyd Collins to Into the Woods and If/Then, in addition to songs made famous by Whitney Houston, Eartha Kitt, and Melody Gardot, while weaving in themes of sex, fatherhood, and religion. Elder has performed the live show to sold-out crowds across the country.
Claybourne Elder is a Grammy, SAG, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel nominee. He played John Adams on HBO’s hit series “The Gilded Age” and was most recently seen on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Company, starring Patti LuPone. He is known for his performances on Broadway in Bonnie and Clyde, Sunday in the Park with George, Torch Song, and Sondheim on Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl. Other New York performances include Hollis in Sondheim’s Road Show, Strike Up the Band at Carnegie Hall, Do I Hear a Waltz? at New York City Center, and Allegro at Classic Stage Company.
In 2022, Elder launched an initiative called City of Strangers to provide free tickets to Broadway shows for people who might not have the means. They have given away over 3,000 tickets and have gained unexpected attention nationally, being featured on “This American Life,” “CBS This Morning,” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
The album is also available on CD and in digital and streaming formats. Bryan Perri and Rodney Bush serve as music directors, and also provide arrangements and orchestrations. If the Stars Were Mine is produced by Claybourne Elder and co-produced by Bryan Perri. To stream or download the digital album, or order the CD or vinyl, please visit orcd.co/ifthestarsweremine.
Claybourne Elder – If the Stars Were Mine – TRACK LIST
1) Something’s Coming (Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, from West Side Story)+
2) I Wanna Dance with Somebody (George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam)++
3) I Wanna to Be Evil (Lester Judson and Raymond Taylor)*
4) Moments in the Woods (Stephen Sondheim, from Into the Woods)+
5) On the Street Where You Live (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, from My Fair Lady)*
6) If the Stars Were Mine (Melody Gardot)+
7) Hey, Kid (Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, from If/Then)+
8) It’s So Nice to Have a Man Around the House (Harold Spina and John Elliot)
9) Till There Was You (Meredith Wilson, from The Music Man)
10) Finishing the Hat (Stephen Sondheim, from Sunday in the Park with George)+
11) Lonesome Goodbye (Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton) *
12) How Glory Goes (Adam Guettel, from Floyd Collins)*
13) Paving the Runway (JJ Heller, David Heller and Ross King)*+++
*Arranged by Rodney Bush
+Arranged by Bryan Perri
++Arranged by Claybourne Elder and Rodney Bush
+++ Orchestrated by Bryan Perri
