JC Chasez, Jimmy Harry announce theater concept album

Playing With Fire is set to be released on October 25th

*NSYNC member JC Chasez, and Golden Globe-winning songwriter, producer and composer Jimmy Harry announce their groundbreaking new musical theater concept album, Playing With Fire. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s timeless novel Frankenstein, Playing with Fire marks Chasez’s first major musical theater recording project. Chasez is also featured as a vocalist alongside singers Cardamon Rozzi and Lily Elise. The project comes on the heels of an exciting year for both Chasez and Harry respectively, following the highly anticipated *NSYNC reunion on the Trolls Band Together soundtrack where Chasez lent his vocals on the group’s first song in two decades, “Better Place,” and Harry’s recent work writing and producing “Take Me Back To The Party,” the latest single from B-52’s founding member Kate Pierson. Harry has previously worked with legends such as Madonna, Pink, Britney Spears, Diplo, Kelly Clarkson, Weezer and more. Chasez made a surprise appearance at this year’s Elsie Fest and joined festival host creator Darren Criss on stage where the project was announced.

Featuring a collection of 16 original new tracks, Playing With Fire first came to fruition when Harry presented Chasez the script of his late mother’s (Barbara Field) theatrical adaptation of Shelley’s prescient sci-fi story. Chasez was immediately intrigued with the play, and work on it immediately began, creating a heartfelt story of timely technological issues, love, responsibility, revenge, loss, and the human condition.

This reimagining of the classic tale constructs a conversation between Frankenstein and his creation, The Creature, at the grave of Frankenstein’s wife, Elizabeth, ten years after her death. Through the dynamic interplay of dialogue and shared flashbacks of key events in both their lives, the concept album plunges into the heart of their intertwined destinies. As they confront their past actions and the devastating impact they’ve had on one another, Frankenstein and The Creature gradually find understanding, sympathy, and forgiveness.

Chasez and Harry were drawn not only to the thought-provoking technological themes in Shelley’s novel but also to the emotional depth that Field’s adaptation brought to the story. It was as if they discovered an untapped perspective on a literary classic that they could illustrate with music. This gripping story is accompanied by dark brooding songs that blend Electronic pop juxtaposed against classical music from the romantic era, forming a captivating symphony of contrasts that reflect the characters’ own internal conflicts.

Playing With Fire is set for release through Center Stage Records on October 25th.