"Music Nonetheless" - from The Book Thief musical

Red. White. Black. These are the colours by which Death remembers. And the colours of a girl who dared to write her story in the ruins. The Book Thief is told by Death. They are haunted by humans, cataloguing the colour of the sky at the precise moment they carry each soul away. Tonight’s story belongs to Liesel Meminger, twelve years old and unafraid to take what matters: the red of a book found in the snow, the black of a novel rescued from a bonfire, the white of empty pages she will fill with her own defiant words. Down in a cellar painted in shadows, she reads to Max, a Jewish fist-fighter hidden by her foster family, and together they imagine a world lit by language. Above, Hans plays the accordion with fingers stained by tobacco and time, Rosa hurls curses wrapped in warmth, and Rudy runs beside Liesel, chasing a kiss that history won’t allow. With a libretto by bestselling author Jodi Picoult and Timothy Allen McDonald, and a soaring score by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, The Book Thief transforms Markus Zusak’s modern classic in “the perfect page to stage adaptation” (Theatre and Tonic ★★★★★), “a creative and theatrical adaptation of a powerful story” (British Theatre Guide), and “a show that will steal your heart” (WhatsOnStage ★★★★★). Here, books burn, but stories survive. Here, memory sings. Here, kindness is rebellion. Red. White. Black. The colours of war. The colours of memory. The colours of a girl who held onto hope. www.demproductions.co.uk/the-book-thief THE BOOK THIEF ORIGINAL 2023 UK CAST RECORDING - Now available on all major streaming platforms: https://orcd.co/thebookthief Based on the novel by Markus Zusak Librettists - Jodi Picoult & Timothy Allen McDonald Music & Lyrics - Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson CREATIVE TEAM Director - Lotte Wakeham Set & Costume Designer - Good Teeth Choreographer - Tom Jackson Greaves Orchestrator, Arranger & Musical Supervisor - Matthew Malone Lighting Designer - Nic Farman Sound Designer - Andy Graham Video & Projection Designer - Dick Straker Casting Director - Abby Galvin for Jessica Ronane Casting Casting Consultant - Jessica Ronane Puppet Designer - Sam Wilde Puppet Director - Amy Rose Fight Director - Yarit Dor Costume Supervisor - Sharon Williams Props Supervisor - Ryan O’Conner Puppet Supervisor - Hannah Southfield Hair Consultant - Suzy Barrett Associate Directors - Martha Geelan, Anna Pool Associate Choreographer - Tinovimbanashe Sibanda Associate Musical Director & Copyist - George Strickland Associate Lighting Designer - Nicola Crawford Assistant Musical Director - Livi van Warmelo CAST Narrator - Obioma Ugoala Rosa Hubermann - Mina Anwar Hans Hubermann - Jack Lord Max Vandenburg - Daniel Krikler Tommy Müller - Matthew Caputo Liesel’s Mother - Katy Clayton Nurse - Oonagh Cox Alex Steiner - Mark Dugdale Max’s Mother - Michał Horowicz Mayor Hermann - Thomas-Lee Kidd Barbara Steiner - Purvi Parmar Frau Holtzapfel - Corinna Powlesland Walter Kugler - Edwin Ray Ilsa Hermann - Wendy Somerville Gravedigger - Lee V G Wolfgang Edel - Russell Wilcox Swing - Anu Ogunmefun Swing - Simon Oskarsson YOUNG COMPANY Liesel - Tilly-Raye Bayer, Mollie Casserley, Eirini Louskou Rudy - Thommy Bailey Vine, Preston Cropp, Oliver Gordon MUSICIANS Musical Director/Keys - Matthew Malone Violin - Elaine Ambridge Double Bass - Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley Reed I - Sophie Creaner Reed II - Megan Davies Percussion - Isis Dunthorne PRODUCERS Producers - Emily Lunnon & Ramin Sabi for DEM Productions, Writers’ Cage, Andrew Paradis Associate Producers - Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Bethany Cooper ALBUM CREDITS Music Producers - Matthew Malone, Elyssa Samsel, Kate Anderson, Ramin Sabi, Emily Lunnon, Pierpalo Demarchi Executive Producers - Andrew Paradis, Ramin Sabi, Emily Lunnon Mixing, Recording, & Engineering - Pierpalo Demarchi Recording Assistant - Tris Ellis Mastering - Oli Morgan for Abbey Road Copyist & Assistant Musical Director - George Strickland Recorded at Livingston Studios, London Artwork designed by Steph Pyne FOR CENTER STAGE RECORDS President/Executive Producer - Van Dean A&R Director - Robbie Rozelle Project Manager - Talia Hankin Press Representative - Liz Skollar PRODUCTION CREDITS General Manager - DEM Productions Children’s General Manager - Louis Ling for Theatre Kid Production Dramatherapist - Wabriya King THE BOOK THIEF was originally produced by the Octagon Theatre Bolton and developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate Programme. Music & Lyrics Copyright © Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson 2023. All Rights Reserved. Album Copyright © Deus Ex Machina Productions Ltd. 2025. All Rights Reserved. Exclusively distributed by Center Stage Records LLC. Unauthorised duplication is a violation of applicable laws.