MTC Releases Cast Album for Jacked!
Metro Theater Company has released the cast album for its latest production – Idris Goodwin’s Jacked! – on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Pandora, TikTok/Resso, and other digital music stores and streaming services.
The 17-track album was created by St. Louis-based music producer, sound designer, and percussionist Jackie “Jackpot” Sharp and recorded at Doorway Studios. It features a wide range of hip hop and break beat music, including vocals and rap by the popular St. Louis punk pop duo, The Knuckles, and the vocals of actor Jarris L. Williams in the role of Jack.
Jacked! is written by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin (Ghost, And In This Corner: Cassius Clay) and inspired by the fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk. Developed for children ages 5-11, Jacked! is an allegory that uses the familiar story of Jack and the Beanstalk as a launching point to explore the impact of substance abuse for very young audiences, encouraging a gentle dialogue about its effects on our communities. The production was initially scheduled as an in-person touring production, but due to the pandemic Metro Theater Company reworked it into an imaginative, fully virtual 40-minute experience that combines hand-drawn animation, spoken word poetry, and Sharp’s fresh, creative hip-hop score.
“When the pandemic shut down the possibility of performing the play Jacked! live on tour, director Jamie McKittrick and I brainstormed about how to best to produce the story for MTC’s audiences,” said MTC Artistic Director Julia Flood. “A collaboration between St. Louis artists in many disciplines resulted in a unique style of animated performance. At the heart of this is the layering of sound that includes Idris Goodwin’s language, Jackie Sharp’s music, and the terrific performances of Jarris Williams and The Knuckles (Aloha Mischeaux and Rocky Knuckles). We are excited that our audiences can not only watch the animated play, but can continue to enjoy, and dance along, to the story with this album.”
The virtual production of Jacked! is still streaming, now through March 31, 2021. Streaming access starts at $16. Audiences can also register for a special “pay what you can” Springtime Special the week of March 15-19, 2021.