At age 58, Santa Barbara native and Broadway veteran Clark Sayre has released his debut album, Broadway Songs of The Spirit.

Although he has been teaching theater at Dos Pueblos High School for 19 years, recording an album has been on Sayre’s bucket list since he left New York in the early ’80s.

Broadway Songs of the Spirit is meant to encourage healing and discovery of commonalities between two normally divided groups of people, Sayre said. He also hopes the album will encourage other middle-aged people to continue pursuing their dreams and reaching new heights.

“I have two great hopes for this album,” Sayre said. “My first goal is that it will bring together two friend groups of mine, my show business friends and my Christian friends.

“In a time when our nation (and my Facebook feed) is so divided, my hope is that everyone can come together around great Broadway melodies,” he said. “It’s never too late to create something meaningful or check things off your bucket list.”

In addition to the album, Sayre has recently written a screenplay and taken up piano (an instrument he dropped when he was 8 years old.) He’s watched as his middle-aged friends have opened businesses, rediscovered artistic talent, written novels and gone on exciting travel adventures.

All the tracks on the album are Broadway (or off-Broadway) songs with a deeper spiritual message. Sayre said the songs speak for themselves, but he’s included his own personal reflections on each as well as theological quotes so listeners may find even more richness and depth.

Songs include a few better-known Broadway tunes from shows like The Producers and Funny Girl, as well as songs from several lesser-known shows like Roadside, Snoopy and The Glorious Ones. Sayre’s own Broadway appearances include Merrily We Roll Along and Oliver.

His album also features local talents, who have worked with popular entertainers, including:

Musical director, arranger and pianist John Douglas (Dizzy Gillespie, Donald O’Connor, The Pointer Sisters); guitarist Tariqh Akoni (Josh Groban, Bette Midler, Stevie Wonder); percussionist Kevin Winard (Captain and Tenille, Doc Severinson, Sergio Mendez); bass player Santino Tafaerella (Michael McDonald, Luis Conte, Bob Mintzer); and recording engineer Dom Camardella (Maynard Ferguson, Kenny Loggins, David Crosby).

Broadway Songs of the Spirit can be found on ITunes, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and CD Baby. For more information, visit clarksayre.com.

— Clark Sayre.