Odds & Ends: Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Release Cast Album & More

Here's a quick roundup of stories you may have missed today and over the holiday weekend.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Release Album
Annoyed that you missed Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse and/or New Jersey’s Paper Mill over the 2014-15 season? Well, there’s good news! The American premiere studio recording will be released on November 20 on Sh-K-Boom, featuring Broadway faves Michael Arden as Quasimodo, Patrick Page as Dom Claude Frollo, Ciara Renée as Esmeralda, Andrew Samonsky as Captain Phoebus de Martin, Erik Liberman as Clopin Trouillefou and more. Directed by Scott Schwartz with a book by Peter Parnell, the musical is a darker take on Disney’s 1996 film and Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel about Quasimodo, a deformed bellringer at the Notre Dame cathedral, and his unlikely relationship with the gypsy Esmeralda.

Preludes, Starring Gabriel Ebert & More, Extends
Dave Malloy’s Preludes has extended off-Broadway at Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater. Developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, the production will now run through August 2; it had previously been set to shutter on July 19. The show features Tony winners Gabriel Ebert and Nikki M. James, along with Eisa Davis, Joseph Keckler, Chris Sarandon and Or Matias, on piano, and is a musical fantasia set in the hypnotized mind of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Tony Nominee Set for West End-Bound Mrs Henderson
A bit of a switcheroo has gone on with the previously reported, eagerly anticipated, stage adaptation of the 2005 cult film Mrs Henderson Presents. Tracie Bennett has stepped in for Janie Dee, who has had to withdraw from the production for personal reasons. It’s no surprise that director Terry Johnson has turned to Bennett—he helmed her Tony nominated performance in End of the Rainbow. Mrs Henderson Presents will play at the Theatre Royal Bath August 15 through September 5, and has now confirmed that it aims to transfer to London's West End. The stellar creative team also includes Tony winner Don Black, George Fenton and Simon Chamberlain.

Nicole Scherzinger Does Carousel
Nicole Scherzinger is teasing us fans of the Great White Way. First of all, she goes and kills a number from Avenue Q. Then, at A Capitol Fourth this past weekend, she sang the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein number "If I Loved You" from Carousel, below. Please Ms. Scherzinger, isn't it now time you announce that you will make your Broadway debut reprising your Olivier nominated performance in the Cats revival next year...?!