Original New York Cast, David Bowie And Enda Walsh – Lazarus (LP)

Label: Columbia – 88985 37455 1, Sony Music – 88985 37455 1
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Vinyl, LP, Single Sided, All Media, Album
Country: Europe
Released: Oct 21, 2016
Genre: Rock, Stage & Screen
Style: Classic Rock, Musical

Lazarus is a musical with music and lyrics composed by David Bowie, and a book written by Enda Walsh. First performed at the end of 2015, it was one of the last works Bowie completed before his death on 10 January 2016. The musical is inspired by, and serves as a sequel to, the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis. Bowie previously starred in the 1976 film adaptation of the same name, directed by Nicolas Roeg.

The musical was staged for a limited run at New York Theatre Workshop in Manhattan, directed by Ivo van Hove. Henry Hey, who previously played keyboards on Bowie's 2013 album The Next Day, served as musical director and arranger/orchestrator for the production and worked closely with Bowie during its development. Like Bowie's contemporary album Blackstar (with which it shares the song "Lazarus"), much of the production of the musical was kept secret until its first preview in November 2015. The musical opened on 7 December 2015 with a planned run through 17 January 2016 although the production was extended to 20 January 2016. Tickets to the entire run of the musical sold out within hours of being made available.

On 21 October 2016, the original cast recording, Lazarus, was released. The album was produced by Henry Hey, who was the musical director and arranger/orchestrator of the original New York production and subsequent productions in London and Amsterdam. The album also features three previously unreleased songs from Bowie, among the last he recorded prior to his death.