\'Dreaming Wide Awake\' was a labor of love for Scott Alan, and features some of the greatest voices and most talented musicians on the Broadway scene. Live strings, a brass section and full band and Broadway\'s best bring to life the music and lyrics of Scott Alan. This CD was worth the wait. I\'m a Star - Sung by Eden Espinosa Surrender - Sung by Cheyenne Jackson Magic - Sung by Adriane Lenox Let Love Begin - Sung by Tracie Thoms Home - Sung by Shoshana Bean Now - Sung by Jonathan Groff Never Neverland (Fly Away) Sung by Stephanie J. Block At Seventeen - Sung by Carly Jibson and Jackie Hoffman If I Own Today - Sung by Shayna Steele featuring Michael McElroy and Capathia Jenkins with guest Pianist Dave Cook Kiss the Air - Sung by Danny Calvert Say Goodbye - Sung by Katie Thompson The Journey - Sung by Josh Strickland and Jill Zadeh Goodnight - Sung by Liz Callaway Producers: Scott Alan and Jesse Vargas Musical Directer/Arranger/Orchestrator: Jesse Vargas Violin: Christian Hebel and Hiroko Taguchi Cello: Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf and Peter Sachon Trumpet: Nathan Warner Sax: Mark Phaneuf French Horn: RJ Kelly Reeds: Mark Phaneuf Guitars: Jake Ezra-Schwartz Bass: Steve Gilewski Drums: Sean McDaniel Piano: Jesse Vargas **************REVIEWS************* \"Songwriter Scott Alan has put together a songbook CD with a little help from his friends ... The results are so much better than some of these amateurish Off-Broadway musicals that come along that one is at the same time heartened and disheartened. Two of the songs, \"Now\" (sung by Groff) and \"Never Neverland (Fly Away)\" (sung by Block) are in themselves good enough to warrant giving \"Dreaming Wide Awake\" a listen... Alan has a voice worth listening to, and he has done himself a favor by producing this sampler of his work to date.\" -Steven Suskin, Playbill.com\'s \'On the Record\' \"Scott (Alan) wears his heart on his sleeve - both sleeves - and it\'s a big heart; he expresses his feelings with unabashed emotion. Run for the hills if you don\'t like openness and open wounds in songs, but you\'ll be missing some of our best musical theater singers treating a skilled writer\'s work with care and matching his passion. It\'s undeniably exciting stuff ... \"Magic\" by Adriane Lenox is nicely calibrated in its build, and balances its projected feelings of uncertainty and determination, with strings and piano working in concert, too. Liz Callaway is, as usual, masterful in cutting to the core of a song (\"Goodnight\"), getting the sincerity and simplicity and avoiding any temptations of goo or overdoing. A hilarious number cut from Piece provides welcome comic relief for this album: \"At Seventeen\" looks at that age from the (counter)point of view of a teenager and a woman of 43 - Carly Jibson and Jackie Hoffman, respectively, each nailing it. This 13-song collection has many gripping and touching moments. What could be considered the smallest moment is in some ways the most heartbreaking: Spring Awakening star Jonathan Groff is disarming in a two minute and 46 second song of reluctant goodbye to an ex-lover where the feelings about the break-up are still raw. He perfectly creates a believable guy reeling in the moments where one is in shock, in denial, and still in love. Eden Espinosa\'s \"I\'m a Star\" is bravura at its best - just delightful. On the more serious side, with songs that start tenderly and gather steam as the characters gather strength before coming down for satisfying cool-down conclusions, are two more standouts: on the subject of divorce, Danny Calvert on \"Kiss the Air\"; childhood longing in the very accomplished \"Never Neverland (Fly Away)\" by Stephanie J. Block ...Dynamite was never so heartfelt.\" -Rob Lester, Talkin\' Broadway