A London studio album of Alexander Sage Oyen and Nora Brigid Monahan's solo musical Diva: Live From Hell has been digitally released, and is now available on streaming networks. The album features Luke Bayer (Millennials, Head Over Heels), star of the work's London run. Hear Bayer sing "Live From Hell!" above.
A riff on show business films like All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard, Diva follows high school drama club president and perennial school play star Desmond Channing who finds his teenage stardom threatened by the arrival of hotshot New York transfer Evan Harris. We meet Channing as he's stuck in the seventh circle of hell, performing a cabaret act that recounts how he got there with a sliver of hope that he might one day break free of his eternal, campy torment.
The work, which features music and lyrics by Oyen and a book and characters by Monahan, played a New York run in 2017. Joe McNeice directed the London bow, which played the Turbine Theatre.
The band has been expanded for the album, with new orchestrations by Jonnie Grant and music direction by Debbi Clarke. Clarke leads the band on piano, with Ben Uden on bass and guitar, Grant on drums, Jacob Rosenburg on trumpets, Max Ellenberger on clarinet and flute, and Chloe Winand on Cello. Oyen and McNeice produced.
"It’s really a tour de force performance—on the album, listeners will hear four different characters played to perfection by Luke Bayer," teases Oyen in a statement. "It’s funny, it’s biting, and it’s a really thrilling listen. If you are or were a Drama Club kid in high school, you’re going to want to hear Diva: Live From Hell."