Atlantic Records will release the original Broadway cast recording of the six-time Tony-nominated Just in Time, the label exclusively tells Billboard. The album of the new musical — featuring Jonathan Groff as star 1960s crooner Bobby Darin, and currently playing at the Circle in the Square Theater — will arrive August 15 on all digital platforms, with physical formats coming October 24.
For Atlantic, the connection with Darin is an especially personal one. “This album felt destined to be made at Atlantic,” say Craig Rosen, evp A&R/label operations and Michael Parker, svp A&R. “Bobby Darin is a key part of our legacy — many of his early hits were produced by our founder, Ahmet Ertegun, and recorded in our original offices.” As both point out, Ertegun is in fact a character in the show, and the Circle in the Square is even located below the label’s current headquarters. “Having Jonathan Groff record vocals here, just as Darin once did, brought everything full circle. We’re proud to help bring these iconic songs to life with this incredible cast and band.”
Jonathan Groff and Gracie Lawrence for JUST IN TIME
Michaelah Reynolds
The album release continues Atlantic’s tradition in more recent years as the label for major OBCRs, including Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Jagged Little Pill, The Notebook and Suffs.
Just in Time transforms the theater into a swinging nightclub, with a live onstage band and Groff holding court as Darin telling his life story. Along with Darin’s hits like “Beyond the Sea,” “Dreamlover” and “Mack the Knife” (all of which were originally released on Atlantic imprint ATCO Records) audiences witness his too-short life as a global star — the inaugural winner of the best new artist Grammy Award — and “nightclub animal,” including his relationships with chart-topper Connie Francis (for whom he started out as a songwriter, played by Gracie Lawrence) and screen star Sandra Dee (Erika Henningsen).
To celebrate the release announcement, two tracks are now available everywhere: “Splish Splash” and “This Could Be the Start of Something Big/Just in Time.”
Jonathan Groff
Michaelah Reynolds
“When Bobby Darin recorded the standard ‘Lazy River’ in 1961, he wanted to present ‘an old sound made new,” say producers Tom Kirdahy and Robert Ahrens. “Working with Atlantic, we are excited to do exactly that as we re-introduce Darin’s catalogue to the world with Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber’s Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award-winning orchestrations, and the performances of Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff and the extraordinary cast of Just in Time.”
