AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

This is simply too important to not share verbatim. I'm delighted at the news and I'm sure that fans of musicals throughout the country will be happy about this update:

For a few months it looked like Footlight Records, the long cherished New York based specialist record store, was disappearing for ever when the website went offline in early December 2008; much to the chagrin of its numerous clients. Although the interest in musical theater has boomed in the mainstream in recent years, there has unfortunately been a corresponding loss in the number of stores specializing in this music with the loss of Tower Records on Broadway amongst others particularly felt. Footlight however has always been the primary source in New York for Broadway cast albums, vocalists and film soundtracks since it opened its doors some thirty years ago and for music lovers across the globe for the last decade after it developed its online presence. After becoming a purely online store in 2004 it has continued to be a hub for specialist music. In January 2009, the new owner, Bruce Yeko bought the site in order to keep this important resource open to the musical theater CD buying public and will be refocusing the online store mainly on Broadway shows and vocalists of this kind.

New Owner
Bruce Yeko traveled to New York from Wisconsin in 1962 specifically to bring himself closer to the world of Broadway, and has a Guinness Book of Records like streak of seeing every new musical that opened on Broadway over 42 years (including some that didn’t even make it to opening night!).

He started Original Cast Records in 1976 in order to preserve the musicals that he loved, that might not otherwise be recorded. The company was a thing of passion, although his first release ‘The Bakers Wife’ written by Stephen Schwartz and including Patti LuPone as a performer went on to be a runaway success and continues to be much sought after to this day. This recording was of note as it was the first cast album to be produced of a show that closed out of town which featured the original cast.

Since then Bruce has been involved in producing and releasing over 300 cast albums. He has worked with many of the legends of Broadway including Alan J Lerner, Burton Lane and Charles Strouse and such diverse recording stars as Angela Lansbury, Mickey Rooney and Kristen Chenoweth. Recent recordings have included: The Broadway Musicals of 1930 (part of an 18cd series from Town Hall) and The York Theatre recording of the 1958 musical The Body Beautiful (by Bock, Harnick and Stein)

History of Footlight Records
Footlight Records was started in 1977 as a store on East 12th St by Gene Dingenry and Ed McGrath. The store specialized in Broadway cast albums, soundtracks and vocals from across these genres and it soon became a gathering place for collectors not only from New York but from acro ss the country and around the globe. It 1992 the store was purchased by Ron Saja who operated it successfully until 2004. With rising real estate prices and an already successful online presence the decision was made to take the store completely virtual in 2004. With Ron moving onto pastures and projects new, BruceYeko is keeping this important one-stop-shop resource available to fans of musicals and singers of the American Songbook

Footlight website is back up and running: www.footlight.com