Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2024 (Concord Theatricals) (3.5 / 5) Teeming with interesting ideas about ethics, journalism, the generation gap, and sexism, The Connector presents its audience with a key question: Would you rather read the facts, or the “truth?” Daisy Prince was a major creative force behind the show, which she directed Off-Broadway in early 2024. Jason Robert Brown provided the music and lyrics, and Jonathan Marc Sherman wrote the book. All three were inspired by the true stories of Stephen Glass and Jayson Blair, who respectively duped The New Republic and The New York Times into publishing articles that were partly fabricated or, in some cases, completely false. Ben Levi Ross leads the company as Ethan Dobson, the charismatic but duplicitous reporter at the center of the story, and his vocal talent is one of the greatest strengths of this recording. He is matched by Hannah Cruz in the role of Robin Martinez, a fellow journalist who quickly becomes suspicious of Ethan’s articles.  Also on hand are stage veterans Scott Bakula and Jessica Molaskey, paired well with the newcomers. Bakula plays the jaded editor in chief of The Connector, and his wry rendition of the song “Now What?” reflects the divide between the older and younger generations; Molaskey is wonderful as the magazine’s longest-tenured fact checker, the first member of the staff to see through Ethan’s facade. In a humorous role, Max Crumm plays the subject of one of the fabricated articles, a West Village hustler whose game of choice is Scrabble. The show’s writers have given the cast powerful material in songs such as “Proof,” “The Western Wall,” and “There Never Was.” Brown’s score is appropriately varied and tuneful, and certainly reflective of the show’s setting in the 1990s; if it’s not as catchy as some of his previous work, his lyrics will be sure to stick with listeners and make them think. The final song is haunting as it derides the ethics of modern journalism and the gullible nature of the public with the searing line: “We believe what we believe, and all we want is someone to confirm it.” In the age of “fake news,” “alternative facts,” and unregulated online information sources, this recording is a timely listen. — Forrest Hutchinson