‘The Gilded Age’ Musical Is Finally Happening — as a Christmas Album — SkimNews
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- "Voices of The Gilded Age: The Christmas Album" is set for release on Friday, November 6, with 15 tracks blending beloved Christmas classics and two original songs written by album producer Desmond Child.
- Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, and Kelli O'Hara (a nine-time Tony nominee) lead a 15-performer roster that includes Laura Benanti, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Adrienne Warren, Denée Benton, and Celia Keenan-Bolger.
- Donna Murphy performs the original "It's Been Real," while Ben Ahlers sings the second original, "The World Needs Some Christmas," which is available to stream immediately.
- Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector are limited to narrating "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" split into three parts across the album, while Baranski solos "We Need a Little Christmas" and O'Hara takes "I'll Be Home for Christmas."
- Nathan Lane and Patrick Page are the "most painful omissions" from the tracklist — the article flags their absence even as it celebrates the cast breadth.
- "The Gilded Age" returns for Season 4 on November 1, giving HBO a coordinated five-day window where the show premieres and the cast album drops.
Why it matters: The cast's Broadway pedigree — six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, nine-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara, and Tony winners Baranski, Murphy, Mitchell, and Warren — has been a persistent fan wish-list since the show premiered, and this album hands them an actual singing outlet the show itself never does. Stacking the album drop five days after the Season 4 premiere turns fan-casting longing into a promotional moment for HBO.
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