Teen Witch the Musical

Teen Witch the Musical
Soundtrack album Music and Lyrics written by: Larry Weir, Tom Weir, Cindy Valentine, Cathy Car
Released	February 13, 2007
Recorded	Studio City Sound Studio City, California
Genre	Operatic pop, popical
Length	47:26
Label	Caption Records
Producer	Tom Weir, Larry Weir
Singles from Teen Witch the Musical
"Finest Hour" "Popular Girl"

Teen Witch the Musical soundtrack album was released as a precursor to a Broadway-bound musical, based upon the ongoing popularity of the musical offerings in the 1989, box office bomb, Teen Witch.

Teen Witch experienced decades of renewed interest, with television reruns, inclusion on a legacy list of Halloween television programming and with midnight theater screenings becoming social events. The movie's musical producers, Grammy Award winner, Tom Weir and New Music Weekly editor, Larry Weir, became interested in releasing the movie soundtrack, but after more than a decade had passed, the original multitrack master tapes were unavailable.

The musical

With disappointing box-office returns from Teen Witch, and no budget for an original soundtrack the master tapes were lost by the time that demand for a soundtrack release had become apparent.^[1] In light of the fact that the music would need to be re-recorded, and in recognition of movie theater attendance for Teen Witch midnight screenings, writer and producer, Alana Lambros suggested that Teen Witch should be adapted for the stage.^[2]

The original music producers for Teen Witch, Larry and Tom Weir, formed Caption Records as the label for Teen Witch the Musical, Studio City Sound was recording studio for Teen Witch the Musical Weir Brothers Studios was the music studio for the film Teen Witch.^[3][4]

In contrast to the film production, the actors would also be required to sing their respective musical numbers in a theatre production. In Teen Witch the movie, Cindy Valentine appears to be the only actor with musical credits. Additionally, most of the performing artists in Teen Witch the Musical would also be required to play the part of high-school students in the stage play.^[5]

Musical trivia

• Larry Weir wrote the song, "Top That" at the insistence of investors. Teen Witch had to be re-shot to include the scene for the song.
• The film's original soundtrack went unfunded as the film's investors "discovered" Jean-Claude Van Damme and abandoned the "Teen Witch" project in favor of financing kung fu action genre films.
• Elizabeth Weir recorded the song, "I Like Boys" for the film at eleven years old.
• The Weirz, the Weir family band, is credited throughout the film's song list.^[2]

Sales

• Teen Witch (the movie): Amazon Best Sellers Rank: 4,113 in Movies & TV^[6]
• Teen Witch (the movie): Tower.com Sales Rank: 2,691 in Movies^[7]
• Teen Witch the Musical: Amazon Best Sellers Rank: 286,828 in Music^[8]
• Teen Witch the Musical: Tower.com Sales Rank: 41,775 in General Rock & Pop^[9]
• iTunes: Soundtrack>Musicals>Artists: Teen Witch "Finest Hour (Instrumental)" listed 227th^[10]
• iTunes: Soundtrack>Musicals>Artists: Sara Niemietz ("Finest Hour", "Popular Girl") listed 78th^[10]

The Cast

With royalty checks rolling in from cable television screenings of the movie, the stage-play went into workshop with three planned versions of Teen Witch the Musical. The first version would be a concert venue, followed by a theme-park version for Universal Studios and then a Los Angeles premiere with Broadway aspirations.^[2]

Featured Artists

• Alycia Adler as Randa (Cheerleader)
• Bryce Blue as Rhet
• Blake Ewing as Brad Powell
• Ashley Crowe as Madame Serena
• Monet Lerner as Darcy (Cheerleader)
• Tessa Ludwick as Phoebe (Cheerleader)
• Lauren Patten as Polly
• Sara Niemietz as Louise Miller
• Heather Youmans as Shana the Rock Star
• V-Style as rapper^[11]

Track listing: Teen Witch the Musical (2007) Bold typeface denotes bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocalist(s) & Musicians	Length
1.	"Finest Hour"	Larry Weir, Cindy Valentine	Sara Niemietz, Blake Ewing Accompaniment * drums: Josh Freese * bass: Lance Morisson * guitars: Tim Pierce * keyboards and programming: Michael Parnell * percussion: Burliegh Drummond * string arrangement: Heday Ikumo * first violin: Anna Stafford, Eric Wuest * second violin: Yohei Nakamiya, Joyce Leonard * viola: Leah Nelson, Tyler Hokanson * cello: Alisha Bauer * brass arrangement, trombone, french horn: Nick Lane	4:06
2.	"It's Never Gonna Be The Same Again"	Larry Weir, Cindy Valentine	Heather Youmans Accompaniment * background vocals: Melissa Reese * drums: Josh Freese * percussion: Luis Conte * guitars: Tim Pierce * keyboards, programming: Michael Parnell * Saxophone: Chris Mostert	3:51
3.	"Dream Lover"	Larry Weir, Cathy Car	Sara Niemietz Accompaniment * drums: Matt Laug * guitars: Tim Pierce * keyboards and programming: Shirley To	4:06
4.	"High School Blues"	Larry Weir, Tom Weir	Bryce Blue, V-Style Accompaniment * background vocals: Larry Weir * marching drums: Matt Laug	2:03
5.	"I Like Boys"	Larry Weir, Theresa Weir, Maria Weir, Tom Weir, Estella Weir	Alycia Adler, Monet Lerner, Tessa Ludwick Accompaniment * drums: Josh Freese * bass: Lance Morrisson * guitars: Tim Pierce * marching drums: Matt Laug	2:44
6.	"I Keep On Falling"	Larry Weir	Blake Ewing Accompaniment * drums: Josh Freese * bass: Lance Morrison * guitars: Tim Pierce * keyboards: Michael Parnell * string arrangement: Heday Ikumo * first violin: Anna Stafford, Eric Wuest * second violin: Yohei Nakamiya, Joyce Leonard * viola: Leah Nelson, Tyler Hokanson * cello: Alisha Bauer, Ginger Murphy	3:48
7.	"Shame"	Larry Weir	Monet Lerner, Tessa Ludwick, Alycia Adler Accompaniment * drums: Matt Laug * guitars: Tim Pierce * programming and keyboards: Larry Weir, Tom Weir	3:59
8.	"She's Put A Spell On You"	Larry Weir	Ashley Crowe Accompaniment * guitars: Andrew Doolittle * keyboards and programming: Michael Parnell * percussion: Luis Conte * trumpet: Steve Madaio,	3:16
9.	"Popular Girl"	Larry Weir	Sara Niemietz, V-Style Accompaniment * drums: Josh Freese * guitars: Tim Pierce * keyboards and programming: Michael Parnell * marching drums: Matt Laug * trumpet: Gabe Johnson	4:05
10.	"Top That"	Larry Weir	Lauren Patton, Bryce Blue, V-Style Accompaniment * marching drums: Matt Laug * guitars: Tim Pierce * programming: Tom Weir * string arrangements: Heday Ikumo * first violin: Alexander Tseitlin, Eric Wuest * second violin: Yohei Nakamiya, Joyce Leonard * viola: Leah Nelson, Tyler Hokanson * cello: Alisha Bauer	2:53
11.	"Fool For Love"	Larry Weir	Blake Ewing Accompaniment * drums: Matt Laug * bass: Lance Morrison * guitars: Tim Pierce * percussion: Luis Conte * keyboards and programming: Michael Parnell * string arrangement: Heday Ikumo * first violin: Anna Stafford, Eric Wuest * second violin: Yohei Nakamiya, Joyce Leonard * viola: Leah Nelson, Tyler Hokanson * cello: Alisha Bauer	3:45
12.	"What Are You Doing About Love?"	Larry Weir	Sara Niemietz Accompaniment * drums: Matt Laug * bass: Lance Morrison * guitars: Andrew Doolittle * keyboards and programming: Michael Parnell * string arrangement: Heday Ikumo * first violin: Anna Stafford, Eric Wuest * second violin: Yohei Nakamiya, Joyce Leonard * viola: Leah Nelson, Tyler Hokanson * cello: Alisha Bauer	3:41
13.	"Get Up & Move"	Larry Weir, Cathy Car	Heather Youmans Accompaniment * keyboards and programming: Michael Parnell * guitars: Tim Pierce * saxophone: Chris Mostert	3:24
14.	"Finest Hour - Instrumental"	Larry Weir, Cindy Valentine	Musicians * drums: Josh Freese * bass: Lance Morisson * guitars: Tim Pierce * keyboards and programming: Michael Parnell * percussion: Burliegh Drummond * string arrangement: Heday Ikumo * first violin: Anna Stafford, Eric Wuest * second violin: Yohei Nakamiya, Joyce Leonard * viola: Leah Nelson, Tyler Hokanson * cello: Alisha Bauer * brass arrangement, trombone, french horn: Nick Lane	1:45

Musicians

• Heday Ikumo, String arrangements
• Anna Stafford, First violin
• Eric Wuest, First violin
• Alexander Tseitlin, First violin
• Yohei Nakamiya, Second violin
• Joyce Leonard, Second violin
• Leah Nelson, Viola
• Tyler Hokanson, Viola
• Alisha Bauer, Cello
• Ginger Murphy, Cello
• Tim Pierce, Guitars
• Andrew Doolittle, Guitars
• Lance Morrisson, Bass
• Paul Bushnell, Bass
• Josh Freese, Drums
• Matt Laug, Drums
• Burleigh Drummond, Percussion
• Luis Conte, Percussion
• Michael Parnell, Keyboards and programming
• Shirley To, Keyboards and programming
• Larry Weir, Keyboards and programming
• Tom Weir, Keyboards and programming
• Nick Lane, Brass Arrangement
• Nick Lane, Trombone
• Steve Madaio, Trumpet
• Gabe Johnson, Trumpet
• Chris Mostert, Saxophone
• Jean Roth-Marinelli, French Horn
• Bernie Barlow Vocals
• London Jones, Vocals
• Melissa Reese, Vocals
• Larry Weir, Vocals^[12][13]

Production

• Larry Weir, Producer, Programming
• Tom Weir, Producer, Programming, Recording, Mixing
• Amy Shiotani, Art Direction
• Maree Sanders, Photography
• Masika Swain, Photography
• Cindy Valentine, Lyricist
• Estelle Weir, Lyricist
• Larry Weir, Lyricist
• Maria Weir, Lyricist
• Michael Damian Weir, Lyricist
• Theresa Weir, Lyricist
• Tom Weir, Lyricist
• Catherine Marie Wight, Lyricist
• Scott Carroll, Engineer
• David Furuya, Engineer
• Chris Loken, Engineer
• Nigel Lundemo, Engineer
• Ramin Mirespassi, Engineer
• Luke Tozour, Engineer
• Adam Winchell, Engineer^[13]

Special thanks to Estelle Harrison, Maria 'Mom' Weir, Masika Swain, and Alana Lambros.^[14]

References

1. Jennifer M Wood (30 August 2014). "18 Fun Facts About 'Teen Witch'". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
2. Steph Beasly (15 June 2007). "Austinist Interviews Teen Witch Songwriter Larry Weir". austinst - Gothamist LLC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
3. Fee, Debi (5 April 2007). "Teen Witch Fans Finally Get Their Wish". Caption Records -- PRweb. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
4. "Weir Brothers Studio: Filmography". Teen Witch (1989). Yahoo.com. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
5. "Teen Witch the Musical: Artists". Caption Records / Studio City Sound. Archived from the original on 2012-05-28. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
6. "Teen Witch". Amazon.com. 12 July 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
7. "Teen Witch (DVD)". Tower Records. 12 July 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
8. "Teen Witch the Musical (Soundtrack)". 13 February 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
9. "Teen Witch the Musical (CD)". Tower Records. 13 February 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
10. "Apple iTunes Musical Soundtrack Downloads". Apple iTunes. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
11. "Teen Witch The Reading Finale" (Requires Flash Player). Charles Faris. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Actor's roles from video of acting workshop
12. Harrison, Estelle (2007-04-05). "Teen Witch Fans Finally Get Their Wish". PRWeb - Caption Records / Studio City Sound. Archived from the original on 2012-05-28. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
13. "Teen Witch: the Musical: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
14. Thomas, Weir (2007). "Track List and Production credits". Teen Witch the Musical (Booklet). Various. Studio City, California: Studio City Sound. p. 1.

External links

• Official website
• "Teen Witch the Musical at AllMusic
• Finest Hour - Teen Witch the Musical - Music Video on YouTube